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OPINIONS OF THE BRITISH PRESS. 



" We feel assured that the reader will feel grateful to us for having 
made him acquainted with the most simple, the richest, and the moat 
perfect sacred poem which recent days have produced. Less pom- 
pous and pretentious, more tender and more powerful, with greater 
sweetness and Christian modesty than Montgomery; less lugubrious 
and heavy than Graeme ; and less labored, sententious, and didactic 
than Pollok, Mr. Bickersteth leads us by the hand like his own guide 
Oriel." — Morning Advertiser, January 1, 1867. 

" This is a remarkable poem, and one likely to attract a great deal 
of attention. While antique in form, it is modern in spirit, and is 
animated by an enthusiasm which carries the reader along without 

any sense of weariness In no English poem have we met with 

eo perfect an imagination of what the intermediate state might be. 

.... As a poetical vision the picture is perfect The ninth, 

tenth, and eleventh books are, to our minds, the best, opening up 
fresh ground, and containing the highest flights of imagination." — 
The Imperial Review, January 19, 1867. 

" The epic narrative begins with an account of the creation of 
angels and men: here he treads the same ground as Milton, treating 

the subject differently and with great power Mr. Bickersteth, 

like Shelley, is most at home in celestial scenery The last four 

books are to our mind the best. Their subjects are more untrodden, 
and they are full of bold imagination. As materialized theology in 

its most poetical form, we must give them the highest praise 

It is a poem worth reading, worthy of attentive study ; full of noble 
thoughts, beautiful diction, and high imagination; and, more than 
all, penetrated with a spirit of holiness which cannot fail to purify 
and sanctify the mind of the reader." — The Stmulard and The Murrh 
ing Herald^ January 25, 1867. 



2 OPINIONS OF THE BRITISH PRESS. 

" If anj poem is destined to endure in the companionship of Mil- 
ton's hitherto matchless epic, we believe it will be ' Yesterday, To- 
day, and For Ever: " — The Globe, February 4, 1867. 

" The poem opens very naturally, describing the nanatcr's death. 
.... The actual divorce of soul and body is conceived and ex- 
pressed with masterly effect In the second book there are 

some portions of extreme beauty The meeting of the soul and 

the Lord is, we think, admirably pictured, the deep reverential awe 

on the one side, the condescending love on the other "We 

think the character of Lucifer very graphically drawn. First of cre- 
ated beings, to him the Son intrusts the vice-regency of earth ; and 
the subtle questionings and uncertain sophistry by which his mind 
fluctuating is overpowered and led away from its allegiance to a fan- 
cied independence are sketched with a skilful hand Mr. Bick- 

ersteth's work is not a crude effusion. He tells us that it has been 
elaborated in his mind through many years; and we will say that 
his labor has not been in vain. He has produced a poem which we 
believe will be largely read, which will dwell in the memory of those 
who read it, and which will leave often, we doubt not, holy thoughts 
in the hearts of those who have followed him from the deathbed of 
weakness on to the endless life of power in the joyful mansions of our 
Father's house." — Christian Observer, May, 1867. 

" The whole first book, ' The Seer's death and descent to Hades,' 
is really of high merit The same strain of felicitous descrip- 
tion prevails in the second book, ' The Paradise of the Blessed Dead.' 
The descriptions of the Seer's meeting with his lost babes and with 
the glorified from among his own flock are very beautiful." — The 
Coniempoi'ary Review, June, 1867. 







] [ Ritchie 



13 OCU^Ar^ /JIJO 



YESTERDAY, TO-DAY, 
AND FOR EVER: 



& Poem, m ftfoelbe Books, 



BT 



EDWARD HENRY BICKERSTETH, M.A., 
u 

Incumbent of Christ Church, Hamfistead. and 
Chaplain to the Bishop of Ripon. 



NEW YORK: 

ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS 

630 Broadway. 

1876. 






Cambridge : Stereotyped and Printed by John Wilson and Son. 

BvTwn*f«r 
JUN 5 l*W 



PKEFACE. 



The design of the following Poem has been laid up in my 
heart for more than twenty years. Other claims, however, 
prevented me from seriously undertaking the work until 
little more than two years ago. But then the deep con- 
viction that those solemn events, to which the latter books 
of my poem relate, were already beginning to cast their 
prophetic lights and shadows on the world, constrained me 
to make the attempt. If it may please God to awaken any 
minds to deeper thought on things unseen and eternal, by 
this humble effort to combine some of the pictorial teaching 
supplied by His most holy Word, it will be the answer to 
many prayers. 

E. H. B 
Hampstead, London, 
September, 1866. 



Nate to tfje Sccono EWtton. 

1 have taken advantage of a second edition to introduce, 
at the suggestion of a friend, a few lines (Book ix. 490 — 
495, and Book xi. 262 — 288), and also to make a few ver- 
bal alterations and corrections. 

August, 1867 

Note to tfje &fjtro lEottton. 

The author cannot allow a third, and now stereotyped, 
edition of this Poem to issue from the press without express- 



6 PREFACE. 

ing his very grateful sense of the acceptance which this work 
has found in England and America. Assurances of the deep 
interest, which the thoughts suggested in these pages have 
kindled or confirmed in many hearts, have reached him from 
aged pilgrims at whose feet he would gladly sit and learn, 
from laborers who are bearing the burden and heat of the day, 
and from many sufferers and mourners in homes of sorrow 
and bereavement. The reaping has already far exceeded 
any toil of the Sower, who can only pray that He, whose 
prerogative it is to multiply the seed sown, may graciously 
water it with the dew of His blessing. 

January, 1869. 



CONTENTS. 



Book Page 

I. THE SEER'S DEATH AND DESCENT TO HADES . 9 

II. THE PARADISE OF THE BLESSED DEAD ... 40 

HI. THE PRISON OF THE LOST 76 

IV. THE CREATION OF ANGELS AND OF MEN . . 115 

V. THE FALL OF ANGELS AND OF MEN 15C 

VI. THE EMPIRE OF DARKNESS 184 

VTI. REDEMPTION 210 

Vm. THE CHURCH MILITANT 250 

EX. THE BRIDAL OF THE LAMB 287 

X. THE MILLENNIAL SABBATH 312 

XI. THE LAST JUDGMENT 333 

XH. THE MANY MANSIONS . . 370 

NOTES 895 




YESTERDAY, TO-DAY, AND 
FOR EVER. 



Book JFtrat. 

THE SEER'S DEATH, AND DESCENT TO HADES- 

The last day of my earthly pilgrimage 

Was closing ; and the end was peace : for, as 

The sunset glory on the hills grew pale, 

The burning fever left me — I was free 

From pain — albeit my strength was ebbing fast 

And quickly' as dreams, though not confusedly, 

The landscapes of my life before me rose, 

From the first breath of dewy morn to that 

Its sultry afternoon. Nor ssem'd my past, 

As often heretofore in retrospect, 10 

A fragmentary discontinuous whole, 

But one and indivisible, — a brief 

Short journey, only steepest at the last. 



10 THE SEER'S DEATH, [BOOK 

Seven nights agone the message came for me. 
The midnight chimes had struck : the echoes sank 
Far in the distance, and the air grew still, — 
A strange oppressive stillness. In the woods 
The leaves were motionless, and on the grass 
Unwavering the moonlight shadows slept, 
And I was communing with solitude, 20 

And listening to the silence ; when I thought 
A voice, as of an angel, spake to me, 
" Thy time is come, prepare to meet thy God." 
'Twas gently spoken, yet a sudden chill 
Struck to my heart ; for I was scarcely more 
Than midway on life's pathway, nor had thought 
For long years to lay down my pilgrim's staff, 
Unless the Bridegroom's voice were heard in heaven. 
And was I uow already summon'd home ? 
I ask'd, and half incredulously gazed 30 

Upon the crystal of that starlit sky, 
Until again within my spirit's depths 
I seem'd to hear that subtle spiritual voice, 
" Seven days, and thou shalt enter into rest." 
And then I knew it was no idle dream, 
I felt that One was standing by me, whom 
I saw not, and with trembling lips replied, 
" Thou calledst me, O Lord, and here am I." 

That night I spent in prayer. The lamp that hung 
Suspended in my chamber slowly paled 40 

And flicker'd in its socket. But my soul 
Was lit up with a clearer purer light, 



I J AND DESCENT TO HADES. 11 

The daybreak of a near eternity, 

Which cast its penetrating beams across 

The isthmus of my life, and fringed with gold 

The mists of childhood, and reveal'd beyond 

The outline of the everlasting hills. 

Twas more than half a jubilee of years 

Since first I knelt a suppliant at the throne 

Of mercy, and bewail'd my sins, and heard f>o 

The voice of absolution, " Go in peace : " 

And daily since that birth-time of my soul 

Had I found shelter at the feet of Christ. 

But in the glory of that light, aware 

Of the immediate presence of my God, 

I saw myself, as I had never seen, 

Polluted and undone : and, clothed in shame, 

Awestruck, like Peter, cried aloud, " Depart 

From me, who am a sinful man, O Lord." 

But, as I raised my eye to read His will, 60 

I saw, as never hitherto, the cross 

Irradiated with celestial light, 

And love divine, unutterable, pourM 

Around the form of Him who hung thereon. 

I gazed entranced, enraptured ; and anew 

1 wash'd the dark stains of my travelling dress 

White in the fountain of His blood ; and then, 

Methought, He laid His hand upon my head, 

And whisper'd, " Go in peace, and sin no more " 

And the words seem'd to linger in the air, 70 

Whether an angel caught them up or not 

I know not, but they seem'd to float around me, 



12 THE SEER'S DEATH, [BOOK 

" Sin no more, weary pilgrim, sin no more, 
No more at all for ever, sin no more." 

And thus long hours of peace and prayer and praise 
Pass'd noiselessly, as gliding slumber ; though 
That night was more to me than years of life, 
If life be measured, its true gauge, by love. 
I feasted upon love ; I drank, I breathed 
Nothing but love. But when the morning came 80 

I knew no more what pass'd around me : earth 
Sank from my view, and yet I was not free 
To climb the heavens. As when the aeronaut, 
Borne sunward on his too adventurous car, 
At length emerging from the seas of mist 
(Which circumfused long while about his path 
Clung darkling, but now roll in lucid waves 
Of clouds beneath him), hovers there a while, 
A stranger in that crystal atmosphere, 
Exiled from earth, and yet not wing'd for heaven : 90 
So in my fever dreams I seem'd to hang 
On the far confines of the world of sense. 
Unconscious of the lapse of day or night, 
If lonely or in loved society ; 
But conscious of my spirit's fellowship 
With the Eternal Spirit. God was there : 
I knew it : I was with Him. And meanwhile 
His angel gently loosen'd all the cords 
Of my frail tabernacle, and the tent 
Flutter'd to every breeze. 103 



I.J AND DESCENT TO HADES. 13 

Six days I lay 
Id that strange borderland, so she, who watch'd 
Unwearied as an angel day and night 
Beside my pillow, told me when I woke 
From the fruition of celestial love 
To drink in, like a thirsty traveller, 
The sweetness of her human love once more:— 
Never so sweet as now. They sin who deem ( 
There can be discord betwixt love and love. ) 
Six days had pass'd ; and now the morning sun 
Bore through the open casement all the glow 110 

Of summer ; more than six days out of seven 
Since that strange midnight summons : — so I knew 
My hours were number'd, and that I should see 
No other sunrise on this weary world ; 
And gently said, intolerant of suspense, 
" My wife, my darling, I am going home ; 
God wills it, darling, — going home to night." 
Sorely I fear'd the first shock of my words 
Upon the tenderest of human hearts, 
A wife's, a mother's heart. But softly laying 120 

Her hand upon my burning brow, she said, 
" I know it all, beloved husband. God 
Hath spoken to me also, and hath given 
These brief hours to my wrestling prayers. Enough, 
To-morrow and all after-life for tears, 
To-day and all eternity for love." 

i And leaning then her ear close to my lips, 

Her soft cheek touching mine, we spoke or thought 



14 THE SEER's DEATH, [BOOK 

(A broken word was clue to many thoughts) 
Of things long past, and holy memories, 130 

That glow'd in sunlight through the mist of years, 
Or cast their solemn shadow o'er the hills ; 
Those anniversaries, that sanctify 
So many Sabbaths in a pilgrim's life : 
/ Hie day that interlink'd her heart with mine, 
3ur ramble through a laurel greenery, 
Aly soul full charged with its own feelings, nor 
Well able to restrain their passionate flow 
Into the waveless mirror of her love ; 
Not able long. The intervening years 110 

Of tried affection and of hope deferr'd ; 
And then the plucking of the tree of life, 
With its ambrosial fruitage and fresh flowers, 
Upon our bridal day. We took and ate 
And lived — God's smile upon us. Then our home, 
All fragrant with parental thoughtfulness, 
Close nestling by the village church, my charge ; 
Say rather ours : our lambs, our flock, our fold, 
For I was shepherd, and she shepherdess, 
And we, as one, were married to one spouse. 150 

Indissoluble bond ! names, faces, hearts 
Came back upon us fresh as yesterday : 
The precious seed not seldom sown with tears, 
The golden grain that ripen'd here and there, 
A wave-sheaf of our husbandry. And link'd 
With all the memories of pastoral life 
The birth-days of our children,( those dear ties 
That bound us ever closer each to each. 



I.] A.ND DESCENT TO HADES. 15 

Us to our people, them and us to God. 

Nor births alone :( for twice the gates of pearl / 160 

Had open'd on their musical hinges, while S 

The angels minis trant had ta'en each time 

A little tender ewe-lamb from our arms, 

To nurture it, so Jesus will'd, in heaven. 

And then we spoke of other blessed dead, 

Akin to us by blood, akin by grace, 

And friends, and fellow-travellers, whose names 

Sprang to our eager lips spontaneously : 

Their forms that hour were present as when last 

We wrung their hands upon the shore of time. 170 

And ever the horizon grew more clear 

And wider as we gazed. Our little life 

Was interwoven with the universe 

Of God's eternal counsels. We were part 

Of the whole family in heaven and earth ; 

The many were in heaven, the few on earth ; 

Part of the mighty host whose foremost ranks 

Long since had cross'd the river, and had pitch'd 

Their tents upon the everlasting hills. 

How shrunken Jordan seem'd. 180 

The day wore fast. 
My wife look'd up. I saw her anxious eye 
Measuring the shadows more aslant, and read 
Her thought, and whisper'd, " Call them to us." Soon 
Our children cluster'd round my bed. Dear hearts, — 
The eldest only in the bloom of spring, 
The next in earliest prime of youth, the rest 



16 THE SEER'S DEATH, [BOOK 

In order opening like forest flowers, 

A wreath of girls with brothers intertwined, 

Down to the rosebud in the nurse's arms. 

They were but learners in the infant school 190 

Of sorrow, and were scarcely able yet 

To spell its simplest signs. But when they caught 

The meaning of their mother's words, and knew 

That I was going to leave them, one low sob 

Broke from them, like the sighing of the wind 

That frets the bosom of a silver lake 

Before a tempest. Each on the other look'd ; 

And every lip trembled ; and tears, hot tears, 

Gush'd forth, and quickly would have drench'd all eyea. 

But fearing their most innocent distress 200 

Would, like an irresistible tide, break down 

The barrier of their mother's holy calm, 

I raised my head upon the pillow, saying, 

u Weep not, my children, that your father's work 
Is over, and his travelling days are done. 
For I am going to our happy home, 
Jerusalem the golden, of which we 
On Sabbath evenings have so often sung, 
And wish'd the weary interval away 
That lay betwixt us and its pearly gates. 210 

You must not weep for me. Nor for yourselves, 
Nor for your mother grieve too bitterly. 
The Father of the fatherless will be 
Your Father and your God. You know who says, 
* I will not leave you orphans.' He will send 



I.] AND DKSCENT TO HADES. 17 

The Blessed Comforter to comfort you, 

And soon will come and take you to Himself, 

That where He is there you may also be 

In glory. And the time I know is short. 

The Bridegroom cometh quickly. Let your loins 230 

Be girded, and your lamps be trimm'd alway. 

Methinks your earthly sojourn will be closed, 

Not like your father's with the sleep of death, 

But by the archangel's clarion. Be it so : 

Or be it that ye walk the pilgrim's course 

To life's far bourn, the God of Israel 

Will shield you, and will give you bread to eat 

And raiment to put on, until you reach 

Your Father's house in peace. 

" Come here, my child, 
My firstborn, who hast ever been to me 230 

Thy mother's image, doubly blessed thus ; 
Subdue thy grief that thou may'st solace hers, 
And with a daughter's heavenly art reflect 
Her former brightness on a widow's heart : 
I leave it thee thy charge. And thou, my boy, 
Son, brother, father, pastor thou must be, 
And with a thoughtfulness beyond thy years 
Enfold thy mother in thy filial love, 
As the leaves cluster round a shaken rose ; 
And shade thy sisters and thy brothers, as 240 

A granite wall the flowers. Thy hour is come 
To take the banner of the cross : it was 
Thy sainted grandsire's once, and fearlessly 



18 THE SEER'S DEATH, [BOOR 

He bore it in the thickest tight, and then 
Entrusted it to my unequal hands. 
Now it is thine. I leave it thee to guard 
And part from only with thy parting breath. 

" Come near to me, my children. Let the hand 
That traced the cross upon your infant brow, 
liest on your heads once more : come hither, nurse, 250 
Upon my babe, my tenderest blossom first, 
God bless him : and the others, dear, dear lambs, 
On each and all a father's blessing abide. 
And Thou, Great Shepherd of the flock, look down 
In mercy from Thy throne of heavenly grace 
On those whom Thou hast given me. From Thy hand 
I first received them, and to Thee again, 
Thee only, I resign them. Let not one 
Be wanting in the day Thou countest up 
The jewels in Thy diadem of saints. 260 

I ask not for the glories of the world, 
I ask not freedom from its weariness 
Of daily toil : but, Lord Jesu Christ, 
Let Thy omnipotent prayer prevail for them, 
And keep them from the evil. In the hour 
Of trial, when the subtle tempter's voice 
Sounds like a seraph's, and no human friend 
Is nigh, let my words live before Thee then, 
And hide my lambs beneath Thy shadowing wings, 
And keep them as the apple of Thine eye : 270 

My prayers are ended, if Thy will be done 
Id them and by them : till at last we meet 



f.] AND DESCENT TO HADK3. 19 

Within the mansions of our Father's house, 
A circle never to be sunder'd more, 
No broken link, a family in heaven." 

And now the sun had sunk behind the hills ; 
The twilight deepen'd; and the stars peep'd forth 
Betwixt the drapery of silver clouds. 
And the nurse understood the sign I gave, 
And led the younger children from my room; 280 

And what with weeping and with weariness 
It was not long before they slept. The rest 
Silently praying lean'd against the foot 
Of my low couch. Never a word they spoke, 
But look'd their inexpressible love, till thoughts 
Of luminous stars, and large and loving eyes, 
Were strangely blended in a dream that came 
Enamell'd with rich pictures of my life, 
Aud floated like a golden mist away. 

The time-piece striking nine recall'd me ; for 280 
I felt the involuntary thrill it sent 
Through my wife's heart, as kneeling by my side 
She clung: and almost unawares my lips 
Repeated words she loved in other days 
Though long forgotten — "AH thine own on earth, 
Beloved, and in glory all thine own." 
They open'd a deep fountain ; and her tears 
Fell quick as rain upon my hand, — hot tears 
On a cold hand, — so sluggishly my blood 
Crept now. And I said, " Let the children read 300 



20 the seer's death, [book 

Some of God's words." All others would have jarr'd 

That night, but His are tender in their strength, 

And in their very tenderness are strong. 

And straightway, like a chime of evening bells 

Melodiously o'er broken waters borne, 

They read in a low voice most musical 

Some fragments of the book of life. 

The first 
Chose words she loved from David's pastoral, — 
•' The Lord my Shepherd is ; I shall not want : 
He leads me in green pastures, and beside 310 

Still waters ; and restores my soul to tread 
For His name's sake the paths of righteousness. 
Yea, though I walk the shadowy vale of death, 
I fear not ; Thou art with me ; and Thy crook 
It comforts me. My table is prepared 
In presence of my enemies: my head 
Thou, Lord, anointest; and my cup o'erflows. 
Goodness and mercy shall attend my steps, 
And in Thy house I shall for ever dwell." 

She ceased ; and then another from the Psalm 320 
Of him, who call'd his son " a stranger here," 
Bead, " Thou, O Lord, hast been our dwelling-place 
From age to age, the everlasting Thou," 
Until he linger'd on the children's prayer, 
" O satisfy us early with Thy love 
That we may live rejoicing all our days " 



r.] AND DESCENT TO HADES. 21 

Methinks, they hardly caught iny low amen, 
For almost without pause a gentle girl , 
With a voice tremulous for tears not shed, 
Repeated, for she knew them, the dear words 330 

Of Jesus on the night He was betray'd, 
" Let not your heart be troubled ; ye believe 
In God . . ." nor ceased till she had pleaded all 
The eloquence of His High-priestly prayer. 

And then my son began, " Now is Christ risen, 
The first-fruits of the dead who sleep in Him." 
The words burnt brightly* as beacon fires at night, 
Till as he utter'd " This corruptible 
Must put on incorruption, and this mortal 
Its immortality ; " and ask'd in tones 840 

Where faith with feeling wrestled and prevail'd, 
" Where is thy sting, O Death ! and where, O Grave, 
Thy victory ? " we heard, but heeded not, 
The warning that another hour had pass'd, 
For our responsive hearts were echoing " Thanks 
To God who giveth us the victory ! " 
And now for the last time the manna fell 
Around my pilgrim tent. My eldest child 
Turned with true instinct to our home, and read 
The vision of the new Jerusalem, 850 

The Bridal city, built of crysicLl gold 
And bright with jewels, whether real types 
Or rather typical realities. 
And, as she read, we often paused and spoke, 
'Though but as children speak, of things unseen; 



22 the seer's death, [book 

Until the closing words, " His servants there 

Shall serve Him ; they shall see His face; Hia name 

Writ in their forehead. And they need no sun 

Or moon to shine upon them, for the Lord 

Doth lighten them with uncreated light, 360 

And they shall reign for ever and for ever." 

Then there was silence : and my children knelt 
Around my bed — our latest family prayer. 
Listen — it is eleven striking. Then 
I whisper'd to my wife, " The time is short ; 
I hear the Spirit and the Bride say, ' Come/ 
And Jesus answering, ' I come quickly.' Listen." 
And as she wiped the death-dews from my brow, 
She falter'd, " He is very near," and I 
Could only faintly say, " Amen, amen." 370 

And then my power of utterance was gone : 
I beckon'd and was speechless: I was more 
Than ankle deep in Jordan's icy stream. 
My children stood upon its utmost verge, 
Gazing imploringly, persuasively, 
While the words, " Dear, dear father," now and then 
Would drop, like dew, from their unconscious lips. 
My gentle wife, with love stronger than death, 
Was leaning over those cold gliding waves. 
I heard them speaking, but could make no sign ; 380 
I saw them weeping, but could shed no tear ; 
I felt their touch upon my flickering pulse, 
Their breath upon my cheek, but I could give 
No answering pressure to the fond hands press'd 



I.] AND DESCENT TO HADES. 23 

In mine. So rapidly the river-bed 

Shelved downward, I had pass'd or almost pass'd 

Beyond the interchange of loving signs 

Into the very world of love itself. 

The waters were about my knees ; they wash'd 

My loins ; and still they deepen'd. Unawares 3Q< 

I saw, I listen'd — who is He who speaks ? — 

A Presence and a Voice. That Presence moved 

Beside me like a cloud of glory ; and 

That Voice was like a silver trumpet, saying, 

" Be of good comfort. It is I. Fear not." 

And whether now the waters were less deep 

Or I was borne upon invisible arms, 

I know not ; but methought my mortal robes 

Now only brush'd the smoothly gliding stream, 

And like the edges of a sunset cloud 400 

The beatific land before me lay. 

One long last look behind me : gradually 

The figures faded on the shore of time, 

And, as the passing bell of midnight struck, 

One sob, one effort, and my spirit was free. 



/" 



They err who tell us, that the spirit unclothed, 
And from its mortal tabernacle loosed, 
Has neither lineament of countenance, 
Nor limit of ethereal mould, nor form 
Of spiritual substance. The Eternal Word, 410 

Before He hung upon the Virgin's breasts, 
Was wont to manifest Himself to men, 
In visible similitude defined : 



24 the seer's death, [book 

Arid, when on Calvary He gave up the ghost, 

In that emancipated Spirit went forth, 

And preach'd glad tidings to the souls below. 

The angels are but spirits, a Maine of fire, 

And subtle as the viewless winds of heaven ; 

Yet are they each to the other visible, 

And beautiful with those original forms 420 

That crown'd the morn of their nativity. 

Each has his several beauty. It is true 

The changes that diversify their state, 

Wrought with the speed of wishes at their will 

And pleasure who are pleased as pleases God, 

Are many as are the leaves and bloom and fruit 

That shed new lustre on the orange groves 

And vineyards of the south : but still remains 

Their angel ideality the same, 

As we confuse not orange-trees and vines. 430 

And so the spirit inbreathed in human flesh, 

By death divested of its mortal robes, 

Retains its individual character, 

Ay, and the very mould of its sojourn 

Within this earthly tabernacle. Face 

Answers to face, and limb to limb ; *'hor lacks 

The saint immediate investiture 

With saintly' apparel. Only then the mind 

Which struggles here beneath this fleshly veil, 

As the pure fire in a half polish'd gem — 44(1 

Ruby or amethyst or diamond — 

Imprison'd, when the veil is rent in twain, 

Beams as with solar radiance forth, and sheds 



1. 1 AND DESCENT TO HADES. 26 

Its glow o'er every motion, every look : 
That which is born of spirit is spirit, and seems 
All ear, all eye, all feeling, and all heart ; — * 

A crystal shrine of life. 

And I was now 
A spirit, new born into a spiritual world. 
Half dreaming, half awake, I lay awhile 
In an Elysium of repose: as glides 450 

A vessel long beset with boisterous winds 
Into some tranquil port, and all is still, 
Except the liquid ripple round the keel : 
So in a trance I lay. But gradually, 
As wakes an infant i: >m its rosy sleep 
To find its mother keeping by its side 
Enamour'd vigil, drentiing I awoke, 
And slowly then betli ought me whence I came 
And what I was, and a&k'd instinctively 
" Where ami?" 1\ nd a gentle voice, in tones 4G0 

More musically soft than those the wind 
Elicits from JEolian harp or lute, 
Made answer, " Brother, thou art by my side, 
By me thy guardian angel, who have watch'd 
Thy footsteps from the wicket gate of life, 
And now am here to tend thy pathway home." 
I turn'd to see who spake, and being turn'd 
I saw two overshadowing wings that veil'd 
The unknown speaker. Slowly they disclosed 
A form of light which seem'd to rest on them, 470 

So, to compare the things of earth and heaven, 



26 the seer's death, [book 

As rests the body of the bird, which men 

Call for delight the bird of Paradise, 

Upon its waving feathers poised in air, 

Feathers, or rather clouds of golden down, 

With streamers thrown luxuriantly out 

In all the wantonness of winged wealth. 

Not otherwise behind that angel waved 

His pinions tremulous with starry light, 

Then droop'd close folded to his radiant side : 480 

But, folded or diffuse, with equal ease 

Buoyant he floated on the obedient air. 

The very sight was melody ; such grace 

Flow'd in his lightest motion. Save his wings 

The form was human in the spring of youth : 

I guess'd a warrior by the fiery sword 

Girt to his thigh ; and yet his flowing robes, 

White as if woven of the beams that fall 

On the untrodden snows, bespoke a priest ; 

And his mysterious crown, a king: -but when 490 

Smiling he look'd on me, so much of love — 

Pure, holy, unimaginable love — 

In that one glance his spirit pour'd into mine ; 

Nor warrior then, nor priest, nor king he seem'd, 

But only brother. 

And again he spoke, 
" Before yon hills have caught the Eastern glow 
Will they expect us at heaven's golden gates. 
The road is long ; but swifter than the beams 
Of morning is the angelical convoy 



I.] AND DESCENT TO HADES. 27 

Sent for thy escort home. Myself thy guide : 500 

And with me other two, who on their hands 
Shall bear thee as they bore blest Lazarus 
Into his father's bosom; ready stand, 
Waiting our summons. But, so pleases thee, 
Ere we set forth, rise, brother, and look round 
Upon the battle-field where thou hast fought 
The fight of faith." 

Immediately I rose, 
My spiritual essence to iny faintest will 
Subservient, as is flame to wind, and gazed, 
Myself invisible, around. O sight 510 

Surpassing utterance, when the mists, that veil'd 
That borderland of heaven and earth and hell, 
Dispersed, or rather when my eyes became 
Used to the mysteries of things unseen ! 
My dwelling had been situate beside 
The myriads of a vast metropolis : 
But now astonish'd I beheld, and lo ! 
There were more spirits than men, more habitants 
Of the thin air than of the solid ground : 
The firmament was quick with life. As when 620 

The prophet's servant look'd from Dothan forth 
0:i Syria's thronging multitudes, and saw, 
His eyes being open'd at Elisha's prayer, 
Chariots of fire by fiery horses drawn, 
The squadrons of the sky around the seer 
Encamping. Thus in numbers numberless 
The hosts of darkness and of light appear'd 



28 the seer's death, [book 

Thronging the air. They were not ranged for fight, 

But mingled host with host, angels with men. 

Nor was it easy to discern the lost 530 

From the elect. There were no horned fiends 

As some have fabled, no gaunt skeletons 

Of naked horror ; but the fallen wore, 

Even as the holy angels, robes of light ; 

Nor did their ruin otherwise appear 

Than in dark passions, envy, and pride, and hate, 

Which like a brand upon their brow obscured 

The lustre of angelic loveliness. 

It was not open battle, might with might 

Contesting ; but uninterrupted war 640 

Of heavenly faithfulness and hellish craft. 

By every saint a holy watcher stood ; 

By some a company of blessed spirits ; 

Each had their ministry assign'd. And oft 

From some superior chief the watchword pass'd, 

Or warnings came of stratagems foreseen, 

Or tidings from the court of glory sped 

From lip to lip more quickly than the thoughts 

Which men decipher from electric signs. 

Far off their armor gleam'd. On the other hand 550 

The spirits of darkness freely intermix'd 

With all ; innumerable legions arm'd ; 

And, baffled oft, to their respective lords 

The thrones and principalities of hell 

Repairing, better learn'd their cursed lore 

To win or storm the ramparts of the heart 

Except to treachery impregnable. 



I.] AND DESCENT TO HADES. 29 

Around some dwellings, thick as locust-swarms, 

I saw them cluster. ' Flush'd with wine there pass'd 

A young man through the solitary streets — SCO 

Not solitary to angelic eyes — 

Home to his father's house : a dark spirit waved 

A fascinating spell before his face : 

And straightway to those tents of wickedness 

He bent his easy steps ; and, as he cross'd 

The threshold through the crowd invisible, 

I heard their fiendish laugh of triumph. Soon 

Another, on the call of charity, 

With haste that dimly-lighted pavement trod ; 

And him the spirits malign assay'd to draw 570 

With the same sorcery : but an angel stoop'd 

And interposed his buckler, and the youth 

Went on unscathed, though mindless of his peril. 

A lonely garret drew my eye ; for thence 

A flood of roseate brilliance stream'd afar, 

Such brilliance as a spirit alone may see : 

There on a bed of straw a sufferer lay 

Feeble, but strong in faith ; and by her side 

Two of heaven's noblest principalities 

Kept watch : and to my look of marvel, why 580 

Such high pre-eminence was hers, my guide 

Made answer, " She is one whom Jesus loves." 

But now another sight attracted me : 

'Twas but a children's orphanage*; but there, 

Say, is it Jacob's ladder once again 

Planted upon the earth ? Such forms of light 

Were passing to and fro continually, 

So frequent was the intercourse with heaven. 



SO THE SEER'S DEATH, [BOOK 

It boots not further to declare what things 
I saw that hour ; but wheresoe'er I look'd 590 

Methought there was an earnestness and awe 
Presaging coming crisis. As I gazed, 
Questions innumerable to my lips 
Rose as live waters to a fountain's brim. 
But I was mute with wonder ; and my guide, 
Responding to my quick unspoken thoughts, 
Said, " Brother, I will tell thee all ere long; 
But now one more permitted glance of love 
Upon thy earthly home, and we must then 
Assay our long precipitate descent." 800 

I follow'd where he led. Is it my home, 
My widow'd, desolate, and orphan'd home ? 
hush ! o'er every child an angel bent, 
Nor was the nurse the only one who watch'd 
The cradle of my sleeping babe. My wife 
Had stolen to our silent chamber back, 
And knelt in tears beside my lifeless clay : 
And o'er her stood a seraph, watching her 
With wondrous tenderness and love and grief. 
" And is it true," I ask'd — my words were quick 610 
And irrepressible for eager thought, — 
" Hath it been ever granted those who have pass'd 
The river, to appear and show themselves, 
Unchanged in form, in heart unchangeable, 
To loved ones they have left behind ? " " 'Tis true 
It hath been so," gently my guardian said, 
kt But only by His sovereign will and word 



>•] 



AND DESCENT TO IIADES. 31 



Who holds the keys of Hades and of Death, 

And opens, as He wills, the mortal eye 

To see the mysteries of things unseen. 620 

There are who fondly call upon the dead 

To hear them, and imagine they receive 

Some dark response in symbols or in sounds : 

But either in their minds their own prayers raise 

Distemper'd phantasies, or spirits unblest, 

Perceiving that the bond of fealty 

Is broken with the One and Only God, 

Assume the very lineaments and voice 

Of those invoked, and answering them allure 

Their worshippers to ruin. Yet sometimes 630 

The veil is lifted by His high behest 

Who separates eternity from time, 

And spirits have spoken unto men, and then 

Their eye is open, and their ear attent. 

Blest seers, blest auditors : but higher still 

And holier is the pure beatitude 

On those who have not seen and yet believe ; 

And such is hers who kneels before thee : hers, 

As thine was, is the victory of faith. 

Leave her to God. Our journey summons us." 640 

u Enough, enough," I answer'd, " All is well ; 

I would not pluck one jewel from her crown : 

Arise, let us be going." And at my words 

The spirit who watch'd beside her look'd on me 

A look of tender gratitude, and waved 

His hand in token of a short farewell. 



32 THE seer's death, [book 

And I was now aware of two who stood 
Beside me, courier angels, wing'd for speed : 
Twin brothers they appear'd, so like their mien, 
80 like their garments dipt in rainbow hues ; 650 

They bent on me the beauty of their smile, 
And singing as they took my hand in theirs, 
" Home, brother, home," unclosed their wings of light 
And we, my guardian leading us the way, 
Set forth upon the road to Paradise. 

Smooth, easy, swifter than the winds of heaven 
Our flight was. In the twinkling of an eye 
We brush 'd the mantle of a silver cloud 
That floated in mid sky. Like flames of fire 
We mounted upward, for awhile within 660 

The limits of the mighty shadow cast 
From the earth's solid globe athwart the heavens. 
But soon, emerging from its gloom, we saw 
The sun unclouded, but its disc reduced 
To half its former radiance, — faint its warmth, 
Feeble its light, and lessening every league. 
But when I saw that we had left the earth 
Beneath us, and were ever soaring higher, 
1 turn'd me to my radiant guide and said, 
" O blessed angel, wherefore calledst thou 070 

The road to Paradise a long descent 
Precipitate ? Upward our pathway leads, 
Ascending, not descending : and the earth 
Already lies a planet at our feet." 



I J AND DESCENT TO HADES. 36 

And he, benignly smiling, answer'd me, 
(l Call me, I pray thee, Oriel, such my name — 
One little beam. from God's great orb of light. 
Ascension and descension, height and depth, 
Are here not measured by a line through space 
Drawn vertical or perpendicular oho 

From any spot on the revolving earth : — 
Of which let it suffice thee to reflect 
Thy highest hitherto hath ever been 
The lowest to the other hemisphere. 
Not so our zenith and our nadir lie. 
But height with us is where the Eternal God, 
Though omnipresent in the universe, 
Reveals the lustre of His throne supreme, 
Through clouds of glory in the heaven of heavens 
And depth is the remotest opposite. 6&o 

We are descending now : for Hades lies 
More distant from the everlasting throne 
Than central earth. Fear not ; for He who sits 
High throned above all height pre-eminent, 
Not only stoop'd from thence to Bethlehem, 
But dying, descended lower than the earth, 
And captive led captivity, His prey, 
In those vast realms beneath. Descending first, 
Soon ife ascended far above the heavens, 
And with His presence fills the universe. 700 

His pathway, brother, must be thine. Nor think 
That Paradise, though situate in the deep 
Which lieth under, is not real heaven : 
Heaven is where Jesus is, and He is there. 
8 



34 the seer's death, L boox 

Even as in those mysterious temple courts 

Built on mount Zion, figures of the true, 

There was the outer court, the holy place, 

The Holiest of Holies, and yet all 

Were but one house, One Father's house of prayer ; 

So is it in the heaven of heavens. And now 710 

The veil is rent for ever, and He walks 

Who bears thy name engraven on His heart 

Before the throne of mercy, and amid 

The golden candlesticks, and where the souls 

Beneath the altar cry ' How long, Lord ? * 

Fear not ; there thou shalt see Him as He is, 

There clasp His sacred feet, and rest beneath 

The beaming sunlight of His countenance, 

And follow where He leads through fairer fields 

Than Eden, by the gushing springs of life 720 

Fresh water'd. He makes heaven : and every part 

Of His great temple with His glory shines." 

So spake he ; and I hung upon his lips 
Entranced, whose words were sweeter to my taste 
Than droppings of the honey dew. But now 
I was aware the pathway that we clomb 
No louger was a solitary track, 
Rather a mighty highway of the heavens ; 
For other travellers, angels they seem'd, 
Were passing to and fro unweariedly, 730 

On manifold behests commission'd. Some 
Swept by us, swift as lightning, on their road 



I.] AND DESCENT TO HADES. 35 

From Paradise to earth : and other some 

Journeying the way we went, in groups of light, 

Bore in their hands, like my angelic guard, 

A weary pilgrim to his home uf rest. 

Others, and they were many, had each in charge 

A sleeping infant folded to his bosom, 

And ever and anon would stoop and gaze 

Upon it with unutterable love. 740 

Of some the flight was slow : but when I look'd, 

The spirit they carried was in chains, and all 

His stricken lineaments bespoke despair. 

And still the path became more throng'd, and shono 

With living meteors, so as to compare 

The things of sight and faith, at midnight when 

A rose-blush as of morning seems to steal 

Across the northern firmament, with jets 

Of ardent flame and undulating light 

Incessant. On our right hand and our left 750 

The stars sang Hallelujah, as w r e pass'd 

Now in the splendor of some nearer orb, 

Whether a satellite or blazing sun, 

And now within the twilight interval 

That lay betwixt their vast domains. But I, 

Solicitous regarding those whose look 

Of woe once seen was ineffaceable, 

Ask'd, " Holy Oriel, are those prisoners, 

Whose slower course we pass continually, 

Angelic, or lost spirits of human birth ? 760 

And wherefore are they on this road with us ? " 



36 the seer's death, [book 

And he replied, his words were grave but calm, 
" They are the disembodied souls of men 
Who lived and died in sin. Lightly they spent 
In Godless mirth or prayerless toil unblest 
Their brief inestimable day of proof, 
Till the last golden sands ran out : and now 
Their hour is come, and they are on the road 
To that profound abysmal deep, wherein 
The rich man lifted up his anguish'd eyes — 770 

Eyes never to be closed in sleep again : 
Nor marvel that one track their footsteps leads 
And ours. Remember he of whom I spake, 
Himself in torments, though far off, beheld 
The holy Lazarus, and call'd aloud — 
A bootless prayer — on Abraham for aid. 
And when that desperate monarch, Saul of old, 
Impenitent, besought of Endor's w r itch 
The knowledge that insulted Heaven refused, 
The prophet's spirit, which rose at God's behest, 780 
Baffling the arts of sorcery, replied, 
To-morrow thou and thine shall be with me.' 
All die, for all have sinn'd. Their mother earth 
Has but one sepulchre for all. And here 
One Hades, by us call'd the under-world, 
Receives the spirits of the damn'd and blest : 
One world, but widely sunder'd by a gulf 
Inevitably fixed, impassable, 
Which severs to the left hand and the right 
The prison-house of woe and Paradise. 790 

Before us now it lies." 



I.] AND DESCENT TO HADES. 37 

I look'cl, and lo 
Before us lay a sphere girdled with cloud3, 
And cdorious w [fa illimitable lights 
And shadows mingling. Momently it grew 
Dilated, as with undiminish'd speed 
We outstripp'd lightnings in our homeward path, 
Until in vain I toil'd to mark the line 
Of its horizon. Boundless it appear'd 
As space itself, a nether sea of mist 
Unfathomable, shoreless, infinite. 800 

Thither our pathway led. But as we near'd 
Its extreme confines, I beheld what seem'd 
A defile in those mountainous clouds, a chasm 
Whence issued floods of radiance, pure white light, 
And rainbow tints, roseate, and gold, and blue, 
Unparallel'd on earth : though he who sees 
The virgin snows upon the Alps suffused 
With blushes underneath the first salute 
Of morning, sees a shadow of this light. 
This was the gorgeous avenue which led 810 

Straight to the gates of bliss — a pass to which 
The grandest and the most sublime on earth. 
From Caubul to the sunny plains of Ind, 
Were but a miner's arch. The massive sides, 
Massive they seem'd, of this ravine were built 
Of clouds which ever hung there undispersed,. 
And caught on every vaporous fold and skirt 
The glory of the sportive rays that stream'd 
Forth from the happy Paradise beyond 
Innumerable. But before we pass'd 820 



38 the seer's death, Lbook 

Under that radiant canopy, I saw 

Another road far stretching on our left 

Into the outer darkness, vast and void, 

And from its depths methought I faintly heard 

The sighings of despair. Time was not now 

For mute surprise or question. On we flew, 

As shoots a vessel laden with the wealth 

Of Ceylon's isle, or Araby the blest, 

Right onward, every sailyard bent with wind, 

Into her long'd-for port. And now the air 830 

Grew tremulous with heavenly melody. 

Far off at first it seem'd and indistinct, 

As swells and sinks the multitudinous roar 

Of ocean : but ere long the waves of sound 

Roll'd on articulate, and then I knew 

The voice of harpers harping on their harps. 

And lo, upon the extreme verge of cloud, 

As once at Eden's portals there appear'd 

A company of angels clothed in light, 

Thronging the path or in the amber air 840 

Suspense. And in the twinkling of an eye 

"We were among them, and they cluster'd round 

And waved their wings, and struck their harps again 

For gladness : every look was tenderness, 

And every word was musical with joy. 

" Welcome to heaven, dear brother, welcome home : 
Welcome to thy inheritance of light ! 
Welcome for ever to thy Master's joy ! 
Thy work is done, thy pilgrimage is past ; 



1.] AND DESCENT TO HADES. 39 

Thy guardian angel's vigil is fulfill'd ; 850 

Thy parents wait thee in the bowers of bliss ; 

Thy infant babes have woven wreaths for thee ; 

Thy brethren who have enter'd into rest 

Long for thy coming ; and the angel choirs 

Are ready with their symphonies of praise. 

Nor shall thy voice be mute : a golden harp 

For thee is hanmnsj on the trees of life ; 

And sweetly shall its chords for ever ring, 

Responsive to thy touch of ecstasy, 

With Hallelujahs to thy Lord and ours." 860 

So sang they ; and that vast defile of clouds 
Re-echoed with the impulses of song 
And music, and the atmosphere serene 
Throbb'd with innumerable greetings. Sounds, 
Such as no mortal ear hath ever heard, 
Save those who watch'd their flocks at Bethlehem, 
Ravish'd my soul, and sights surpassing words, 
Till, ear and eye fulfill'd with pure delight, 
I turn'd me to my angel guide, and said 
Unconsciously, " 'Twere good to sojourn here ! " 870 
But he, in tones of buoyant hope, replied, 
u Brother, thou shalt see greater things than these." 

END OF THE FIRST BOOK. 




Bock Second 



THE PARADISE OF THE BLESSED DEAD. 



On, through that mountainous defile of clouds, 

My guardian and his winged ministers 

Bore me with smooth undeviating flight, 

And speed unslacken'd : round about us play'd 

Our retinue of angels, carolling 

And harping as they flew : the while an hour 

Pass'd perad venture of terrestrial time, 

Measuring in space leagues almost measureless, 

Though travellers along that blissful road 

Wish'd it were longer. But at last aware 1 

Of brighter radiance circumfused, I look'd 

Far in the gleaming distance, and behold, 

Barring our onward course were gates of pearl, 

Translucent pearl, through which the glory' of heaven 

Came softened in a thousand tender hues — 

Distinguishable Iris, chrysolite, 

Sapphire, and emerald, and sardius, 

£.nd peerless hyacinthine amethyst. 

The deep foundations of those gates were sunk 



THE PARADISE OF THE BLESSED DEAD. 41 

Lower than thought may fathom, and their top 20 

Appear'd to touch the empyrean's arch ; 

But at the echo of the harpers' song 

Back with melodious sound they softly flew, 

As if themselves instinct with sympathies 

Of welcome, and disclosed the scenes of bliss 

That lay beyond them bathed in amber light. 

Here first upon the threshold of those gates 
My heavenly escort paused. Here first I trod 
A pavement of transparent gold, and gazed 
Upon that luminous ravine, which brought 30 

Us hither, in admiring marvel. Such 
A cincture, to compare great things with small, 
Of waters and of vaporous clouds composed 
Some hold the golden ring which circulates 
Round Saturn's orb : or such, as others tell, 
The lucid atmosphere enveloping 
The central sun, whose^solid globe opaque 
Is only visible through rents which show 
As spots to the inhabitants of earth. 
But what might be the mantle, which en wrapt 40 

The unseen world of spirits, I ask'd not. Clouds 
Were none before us. Through the gates of pearl 
We pass'd, and on a terraced platform stood, 
Which overlook'd the realms of Paradise, 
And gazed awhile, like Moses from the rocks 
Of Pisgah on the promised land. 0, scene 
Surpassing words ! Beneath us lay outstretch 'd 
A garden far more large than if the earth 



42 THE PARADISE OF [BOOK 

From pole to pole, from sunrise to sunset, 

Bloom'd with the countless roses of Cashmere ; 50 

And yet not larger to the dark abyss 

That couch'd beneath it and beyond, than was 

Blest Eden to the whole primeval world. 

And this, like Adam's sinless nursery, 

Was planted by the hand of God Himself, 

And water'd with the rivulets of life, 

And shaded with innumerable trees, 

Fragrant and flowering and hung with fruit — 

Trees beautiful to view and good for food. 

All here was good. Nor were there wanting hills 60 

With valleys interspersed, and placid lakes, 

And plains, and forests, as of cedars, fit 

For holy intercourse of friend with friend, 

And opening glades between. The distant seem'd 

Near as we looked upon it : whether this 

Were due to that crystalline atmosphere 

Purged from all film, or rather that the eyes 

Of spirits and angels in themselves excel 

The virtues of those lenses wherewith men 

Have arm'd their ineffective vision, as TO 

A microscope and telescope in one. 

For a brief space we gazed enamour'd. Then 

Cleaving with ease the light elastic air, 

By love's strong magnet drawn, we sloped our flight, 

As slopes a meteor with its train of gold 

Across the summer firmament, nor stay'd 

Till in a wooded vale beside a stream 

We lighted — we and our angelic choir. 



II.] THE BLESSED DEAD. 43 

We lighted ; and my guardian with a smile 
Of gladness, which no thought of self obscured, 80 

Turn'd to me, saying, " Brother, this is home : 
This is thy Saviour's rest, and this is thine, 
Until the archangel's trumpet sound in heaven ; 
Here thou with Jesus art, Jesus with thee ; 
Go forth and meet thy Lord. Beneath this shade 
Meantime we tarry for thee, while alone 
Thou seest Him whom thou hast loved unseen : 
That is an incommunicable joy 
"With which no other hearts, angels or men, 
Can intermeddle. By yon grassy bank 90 

Follow where leads thee on thy way this stream 
Of flowing crystal ; such is His command : 
And here will we await thy blest return." 

So they retired a little space aside, 
Under the grateful shadow of those trees 
Rich with ambrosial fruit : and ere my lips 
Could utter thanks I found myself alone — 
Alone, and on my way to meet my God. 
The solitude was sweet. So many scenes 
Of glory and unprecedented joy 100 

Had crowded on my vision, that I long'd 
To gather and compose my thoughts awhile 
In meditation. Such an interval 
Of brief but blissful solitude the bride, 
Left lonely on her bridal evening, feels 
To still the beating of a heart that beats 
Too high with virgin bashfulness and hope, 



44 THE PARADISE OF [BOOK 

Ere she receives her spouse. And, as I trod 
Those banks enamell'd with the freshest flowers, 
Soothed with the gliding music which that stream 110 
Made ever, brokenly at intervals, 
Communing with myself, I thought aloud. 

" And am I, then, in heaven ? Is this the land 
To which my yearning heart so often turn'd 
Desirous ? This the Paradise of saints ? 
And is it I myself who speak ? The same 
Who wander'd in the desert far astray, 
Till the Good Shepherd found me perishing, 
And drew me to Himself with cords of love ? 
Has He now brought me to His heavenly fold, 120 

Which sin can never touch nor sorrow cloud, 
Me who have water'd with my frequent tears 
The thorny wilderness, and struggled on 
Footsore and weary — me, the wayward one ? 
And shall I never wander from Him more, 
And never grieve His brooding Spirit again ? 
O, joy ineffable ! But am I now 
About to meet Him, see Him face to face 
Who made me, and who knows me what I am, 
Of all His saints mnworthiest of His love ? 130 

Why beats this heart so tremulously ? Why 
Do thoughts within me rise ? Is it not He 
Who bought me with His blood ? Hath He not led 
Me on my journey hither step by step ? 
Came He not to me at the hour of death, 
And whisper'd that my sins were all forgiven, 



II.] THE BLESSED DEAD. 45 

And now hath sent His angels to convoy 

My spirit safely home, and welcome me 

With songs of Hallelujah ? What is love, 

If this indissoluble bond that links 140 

Me and my Lord for ever be not love ? 

His costly, precious, infinite, divine : 

Mine human, limited, and mean, and poor, 

And yet His inward Spirit whispers, true. 

For what were all this gorgeous Paradise, 

The music of these waters, and these bowers 

Fragrant with fruitage, what were all to me, 

And tenfold all, twice measured, without Him ? 

Without Him heaven were but a desert rude ; 

With Him, a desert heaven. And art Thou here, 150 

Jesu, my Lord, my life, my light, my all ? 

When wilt Thou come to me, or bid me come 

To Thee, that I may see Thee as Thou art, 

And love Thee even as Thou lovest me ? " 

And as I spake I heard a gentle Voice 
Calling me by my name. So Adam heard 
And conscience-stricken Eve the voice of God 
Walking abroad through Eden in the cool 
Of sunset. But with other thoughts to theirs 
I turn'd to see who called me ; and lo, One 160 

Wearing a form of human tenderness 
Approach'd. Human He was, but love divine 
Breathed in His blessed countenance, a love 
Which drew me onwards irresistibly 
Persuasive : whether now He veil'd His beams 



46 THE PARADISE OP [BOOK 

More closely than the hour His brightness shone 

Around the prophet by Ulai's banks, 

And in the solitary Patmos smote 

Prostrate to earth the Apocalyptic seer ; 

Or whether the Omnipotent Spirit of God 170 

Strengthens enfranchised spirits to sustain 

More of His glory. I drew near to Him, 

And He to me. beatific sight ! 

vision with which nothing can compare ! 
The angel ministrant who brought me hither 
Was exquisite in beauty, and my heart 
Clave to his heart: the choristers of light, 
Who sang around our pathway, none who saw 
Could choose but love for very loveliness. 

But this was diverse from all other sights : 180 

Not living only, it infused new life ; 

Not beautiful alone, it beautified ; 

Nor only glorious, for it glorified. 

For a brief space methought 1 look'd on Him, 

And He on me. blessed look ! how brief 

1 know not, but eternity itself 

Will never from my soul erase the lines 

Of that serene transfiguring aspect. 

For a brief space I stood, by Him upheld, 

Gazing, and then in adoration fell 190 

And clasp'd His sacred feet, while holy tears, 

Such tears as disembodied spirits may weep, 

Flow'd from my eyes. But bending over me, 

As bends a mother o'er her waking babe, 

He raised me tenderly, saying, " My child." 



O.] THE BLESSED DEAD. 47 

And I, like Thomas on that sacred eve, 

Could only answer Him, " My Lord, my God." 

And then He drew me closer, and Himself 

With His owu hand, His pierced hand of love, 

Wiped the still falling tear-drops from my face, 200 

And told me I was His and He was mine, 

And how my Father loved me and He loved. 

That hour for brevity a moment seemed ; 
For benediction, ages. But at last 
Calmly He said, " The night is almost spent ; 
The morning is at hand. Fearless meanwhile 
Rest thou in peace. Oriel, thy guardian spirit, 
Shall lead thee to those bowers felicitous, 
Where now thy parents and thy babes await 
My kingdom with the other Blessed Dead." 210 

So saying, by the hand He led me forth, 
(Lowly in heart as when He stoop'd and led 
The blind man of Bethsaida aside), 
And brought me to the spot where Oriel stayM 
Expectant with those courier seraphim 
And all that choir of angels. Reverent 
They rose, and knelt in worship at His feet ; 
And there was silence till again His voice 
Breathed new delight ineffable in all. 

" Soldier and servant of the Lord, well done ! 220 

My faithful Oriel, w r ell hast thou discharged 
Thy long and arduous ministry of love 



48 THE PARADISE OF [BOOK 

'Twixt earth and heaven, now for six thousand years : 

And not least faithful proved in guarding this 

Thy youngest brother from the hosts of hell 

Confederate to destroy My child in vain. 

And ye, My winged ministers of light, 

Well have ye brought him hither. And, ye choirs 

Celestial, I have heard well-pleased your songs 

And notes of welcome. For a little while 230 

Abide ye in these happy fields, for soon 

A mightier triumph shall awake your harps. 

And, Oriel, be it thine to take thy ward 

Where wait his coming those he loved on earth : 

And, when fulfill'd with their society 

And all the present bliss of Paradise, 

Lead him apart, and patiently disclose 

That which thou knowest of eternity's 

To-day and yesterday. The morrow dawns. 

Make him partaker of thy thoughts, whom thou 240 

Hast brought to share thy glory. And meanwhile 

Receive from Me this token of thy trust." 

He said, and from His bosom pluck'd what seem'd 
A gem of fire, a globe of liquid light, 
As Venus in her prime shines on the earth, 
And placed it in my guardian's starry crown : 
An amaranthine diadem, enwove 
With many jewels, now at last complete. 
New love beat in all hearts, new joy, new praise : 
And in a moment we were there alone ; 260 

Yet not alone, I felt that He was there, 



II.] THE BLESSED DEAD. 4b 

Invisible, but personally there ; 

Spirit with spirit : I with Him, and He 

"With me. Such virtue Omnipresence hath, 

Which only hides its glory in itself, 

That it may manifest itself anew 

In forms of unknown beauty, light with cloud, 

Voices with silence, movement with repose 

Combining in eternal interchange. 

And through an open glade we took our way, 260 
And many an avenue of forest trees, — 
Such forests Paradise alone may rear, — 
And on through many a deep ravine, which slept 
Beneath the guardianship of shadowing hills, 
Gliding as easily as glides a train 
Of golden mist amid Norwegian pines ; 
Or as a parting smile of evening, shed 
By the proud king of day, ere he retires 
Within the crimson curtains of the West, 
Breaks over the cloud-mantled Pyrenees, 270 

Till their peaks glow like opal, and the lakes 
Catching the transitory radiance gleam 
Like liquid pearl : so smoothly without sound 
Of footfall on the printless flowers we pass'd. 

The track was long, soliciting our stay ; 
The time was briefer than my words. And lo, 
A valley open'd on our sudden gaze 
Pre-eminently beautiful and bright 
'Mid that bright world of beauty. But straightway 
4 



£0 THE PARADISE OP [BOOK 

Or ever I could utter words of praise, 280 

Voices familiar as my mother tongue 

Fell on me ; and an infant cherub sprang, 

As springs a sunbeam to the heart of flowers, 

Into my arms, and murmur'd audibly, 

" Father, dear father ; " and another clasp'd 

My knees, and falter'd the same name of power. 

One look sufficed to tell me they were mine, 

My babes / my blossoms, my long parted ones ; 

The same in feature and in form as when 

1 bent above their dying pillow last, 290 

Only the spirit now disenrobed of flesh, 

And beaming with the likeness of their Lord. 

The one who nestled in my breast had seen 
All of earth's year except the winter's snows. 
Spring, summer, autumn, like sweet dreams, had smiled 
On her. Eva — or living — was her name ; 
A bud of life folded in leaves and love ; 
The dewy morning star of summer days ; 
The golden lamp of happy fire-side hours ; 
The little ewe-lamb nestling by our side ; 300 

The dove whose cooing echoed in our hearts ; 
The sweetest chord upon our harp of praise ; 
The quiet spring, the rivulet of joy ; 
The pearl among His gifts who gave us all ; 
On whom not we alone, but all who look'd, 
Gazing would breathe the involuntary words, 
" God bless thee, Eva — God be bless'd for thee." 
Alas, clouds gather'd quickly, and the storm 



II.] THE BLESSED DEAD. 51 

Fell without warning on our tender bud, 

Scattering its leaflets ; and the star was drench'd 310 

In tears ; the lamp burnt dimly ; unawares 

The little lamb was faint ; the weary dove 

Cower'd its young head beneath its drooping wing ; 

The chord was loosen'd on our harp ; the fount 

Was troubled, and the rill ran nearly dry ; 

And in our souls we heard our Father, saying, 

" Will ye return the gift ? " The Voice was low — 

The answer lower still — " Thy will be done." 

And now, where we had often pictured her, 

I saw her one of the beatified ; 32C 

Eva, our blossom, ours for ever now, 

Unfolding in the atmosphere of love : 

The star that set upon our earthly home 

Had risen in glory, and in purer skies 

Was shining ; and the lamp we sorely miss'd, 

Shed its soft radiance in a better home ; 

Our lamb was pasturing in heavenly meads ; 

Our dove had settled on the trees of life ; 

Another chord was ringing with delight, 

Another spring of rapture was unseal'd, 3S0 

Tn Paradise ; our treasure was with God ; 

The gift in the great Giver's strong right hand; 

And none who look'd on her could choose but say, 

" Eva, sweet angel, God be bless'd for thee." 

But, were it possible, more beauteous seem'd 
The cherub child who clung about my knees — 
A different beauty, hers. Sweet Constance, she 



52 THE PARADISE OF [BOOK 

Had trodd'n a longer, rougher pathway home, 

And not unset with thorns, — long for a babe, 

Two winters and three summers was her life — 340 

Rough only for a babe ; but every step 

Ta'en by her little bleeding feet had left 

Its tracery upon her spirit now 

In tender lines of love, and peace, and praise. 

Yet both were only infants ; babes of light 

In God's great household : heaven with all its joys 

Had perfected, not changed, their infancy: 

The younger, with the fearless gaze of one 

Who never knew the shadow of a cloud, 

Sparkling as sparkles a pure diamond : 350 

The elder, with a child's deep confidence, 

Which trusts you with illimitable trust, 

And with one look summons and wins your heart. 

A babe in glory is a babe for ever. 
Perfect as spirits, and able to pour forth 
Their glad heart in the tongues which angels use, 
These nurslings gather'd in God's nursery 
For ever grow in loveliness and love, 
(Growth is the law of all intelligence) 
Fet cannot pass the limit which defines 360 

Their being. They have never fought the fight, 
Nor borne the heat and burden of the day, 
Nor stagger'd underneath the weary cross ; 
Conceived in sin, they sinn'd not ; though they died, 
They never shudder'd with the fear of death : 
These things they know not and can never know. 



n.] THE BLESSED DEAD. 53 

Fet fallen children of a fallen race, 

And early to transgression, like the rest, 

Sure victims, they were bought with Jesus' blood, 

And cleansed by Jesus' Spirit, and redeem'd '67Q 

By His Omnipotent arm from death and hell : 

A link betwixt mankind and angelhood : 

As born of woman, sharers with all saints 

In that great ransom paid upon the cross : 

In purity and inexperience 

Of guilt akin to angels. Infancy 

Is one thing, manhood one. And babes, though part 

Of the true archetypal house of God 

Built on the heavenly Zion, are not now, 

Nor will be ever, massive rocks rough-hewn, 380 

Or ponderous corner-stones, or fluted shafts 

Of columns, or far-shadowing pinnacles; 

But rather as the delicate lily-work 

By Hiram wrought for Solomon of old, 

Enwreathed upon the brazen chapiters, 

Or flowers of lilies round the molten sea. 

Innumerable flowers thus bloom and blush 

In heaven. Nor ~eckon God's designs in them 

Frustrate, or shorn of full accomplishment : 

The lily is as perfect as the oak ; 

The myrtle is as fragrant as the palm ; 

And Sharon's roses are as beautiful 

As' Lebanon's majestic cedar crown. 

And when I saw my little lambs unchanged, 
And heard them fondly call me by my name, 



390 



54 THE PARADISE OP [BOOK 

" Then is the bond of parent and of child 
Indissoluble," I exclaim'd, and drew 
Them closer to my heart and wept for joy. 

But other voices of familiar love, 
And other forms of light reminded me 400 

By the deep yearnings of my soul, I was 
Myself not only' a father but a child ; 
Nor child alone, but brother, pastor, friend. 
How often had I long'd in dreams o' the night, 
Or meditative solitude, to see 
The beaming sunshine of my father's smile, 
Which ever seem'd to me a reflex joy 
Cast from God's smile ; or haply oftener yet 
My mother's face of fond solicitude, — 
Solicitous for all except herself. 410 

They were before me now. Nor they alone : 
Betwixt them leant a slender seraph form, 
My sister's spirit, who with frailest bark 
Year after year had stemm'd the wildest sea, 
Pain, conflict, cloud, and utter weariness, 
Till the last billow, almost unawares, 
On its rough bosom bore her into rest. 
And can this be that wave-tost voyager, 
This she ? Radiant with beauty and with bloom, 
As if the past had written on her brow 420 

Its transcript in those shades of pensive grace 
And breathing sympathy, wherein remain'd 
Nothing of sadness, all of saintliness. 
She stood and look'd on me a moment, saying, 



II.] THE BLESSED DEAD. 55 

" My brother, it is lie ! " and on my neck 

She fell ; nor arms alone were interlock'd 

In that embrace. Aud then the pent up thoughts 

Of many years flow'd from our eager lips, 

As waters from a secret spring unseal'd. 

I was no stranger in a strange land there: 430 

But rather as one who travel-worn and weary, 
"Weary of wandering through many climes, 
At length returning homeward, eyes far off 
The white cliffs of his fatherland, and ere 
The laboring ship touches its sacred soil 
Leaps on the pier, while round him crowding press 
Children and kith and friends, who in a breath 
Ask of his welfare, and with joyous tongues 
Pour all their love into his thirsty ear. 
Such welcome home was mine ; such questionings 440 
Of things that had befallen me since last 
"We met, and of my pathway thitherwards, 
And of the dear ones I had left behind : — 
"Words with embraces interspersed. And then, 
Taking my hands exultingly in theirs, 
And singing for delight, they led me on 
Adown that heavenly valley : and the joy 
Of Oriel, who resign'd me to their charge 
Awhile, and with his radiant retinue 
Hung on our footsteps, was fulfill'd in mine. 4SC 

Straight towards a river bank they bent their steps, 
Shaded by trees of life, whose pendent boughs, 
FannM by soft gales, and laden with fresh fruit. 



56 THE PARADISE OP [BOOK 

Dipp'd in the living waters. Every step 
Some fondly loved familiar face was seen, 
Whom I had known in pilgrim days, unchanged, 
And yet all bright with one similitude : 
One Lord had look'd on them. 

So pass'd we on, 
And lo, a group of the beatified 

Advanced to meet us, on whose lips methought, 460 
Ilush'd to a whisper for delight, I heard 
The strange salute of father. In amaze 
I ask'd what meant such gratulation there ? 
And one for many answer'd, " From thy mouth 
We heard of Jesus' love, and thine the hand 
That led us to His feet." It was enough • 
For all the parent and the pastor woke 
Within me ; all the holy memories 
Of bygone days flow'd in a refluent tide 
Over my soul once more. Some I had known 47fc 

From rosy dawn of childhood, and had watch'd 
Their hearts like buds beneath a cottage wall 
Unfolding to the sunshine of God's love. 
Some I had shepherded, yea many, who 
With all the throbbing impulses of youth, 
Gave me the inviolable confidence 
Of their young life. And some in after years 
Had pour'd the burden of a wounded spirit, 
Suffering and sunken, into mine ; and we 
Had wept together, and together sought 480 

The sinner's only Friend, nor sought in vain. 



n.] THE BLESSED DEAD. 57 

And others, dying, heard me read of him 

Who on the cross for mercy cried to Christ ; 

Heard, and themselves believed. All these I knew ; 

And quickly' as light their story flash'd on me. 

But in that group of filial spirits there came 

Many I knew not — part of that great store 

Of unsuspected treasure heaven conceals : 

And they too pour'd on me beatitudes. 

Nor, what I chiefly noted, seem'd my heart 490 

Surcharged, or freighted overmuch, with love. 

Affections with affections jarr'd not. All 

Was music. As through some cathedral aisles 

An organ of a thousand pipes pours forth 

Its rich and multitudinous harmonies, 

While the rapt organist touches at will 

Its various stops, hautboy, and trump, and flute, 

The clarion with the dulciana smooths, 

And chastens with the plaintive tremulant 

The diapason's thunder-roll : so love 500 

Without confusion blended there with love, 

Symphoniously distinct : and I embraced 

Each one with all my heart, and all as each. 

But now arrived upon that river bank 
Whose lucid waves were shaded by the trees 
Of life, along its marge in loose array 
We wander'd, saints and angels, hand in hand, 
The children dancing in their innocent glee, 
And showering roses round our steps. But soon, 
Hard by a wooded precipice, whence fell 510 



58 THE PARADISE OP [BOOK 

The living waters with melodious fall 

In numberless cascades from rock to rock 

Exultant, like a rain of diamonds, 

Through gates of woven myrtle' and vine we pass'd, 

And enter'd what they call'd their bower of bliss, 

One of the countless bowers of Paradise. 

Or rather it might seem a sylvan shrine 

For worship ; so precipitous the trees, 

Trees loftier than those giant pines which cast 

Their shade athwart Peruvian forests, shot 520 

Right upward towards the crystal firmament, 

And wove aloft branches and leaves and fruit 

In arches intricate, a fretted roof, 

Through which the light cool'd and empurpled came, 

Leaving beneath wide clearance, carpeted 

With moss of amaranth and delicate ferns. 

On these the spirits elect straightway reclined, 

And I with them : while Oriel over me 

Leant gazing with such pure perfect delight 

As guardian angels only know. And then 530 

My children placed within my hands the wreaths 

Which they had woven of unfading flowers 

Against my coming : these my mother took 

And set upon my brow, smiling, and said, 

* Tby crown of glory other hands than mine, 

And in an hour of holier victory, 

Shall give thee." 

And at Oriel's signal came 
My father bearing in his hand a harp 



II.] THE BLESSED DEAD. 59 

Of simplest form but manifold in tones 

Of musical modulations without end, 540 

And gave it to me, saying, " Take it, my son ; 

It is heaven's workmanship, and made for thee." 

I took it, nothing loath ; and, though on earth 

In lute or harp my skill was nothing, then 

Immediately I felt the tremulous strings 

Responsive to my every thought, as when 

The wind in sportive or in pensive mood 

Wakens iEolian music. Strung it was 

And pitch'd in most mysterious unison 

With my heart's sympathies ; for when I laid 550 

My fingers on its airy chords, straightway 

My very soul gush'd forth in melody, 

The harp and harper vibrating in tune : 

While words, like echoes of an old refrain 

That heard in childhood haunts our riper years, 

Broke in heaven's music from my lips — " To Him 

Who loved us, and hath wash'd us from our sins 

In His own Wood, and made us unto God 

And to the Father kings and priests, to Him 

Be glory and dominion, power and praise 560 

For ever and for evermore. Amen." 

And all the ransom'd spirits rejoicingly 

Answer'd, " For evermore, Amen." And all 

The choir of angels struck their golden lyres, 

Prolonging the sweet melody, until 

On every face a brighter radiance fell, 

And He, whose presence in the bowers of bliss 

Ts Omnipresent, secretly reveal'd 



60 THE PARADISE OF |_BOOK 

Himself to each, diffusing fragrance round 

And joy unutterable ; as when the wind 570 

Moves clouds of incense from an altar flame, 

And sheds a momentary roseate light 

On priests and worshippers and temple walls. 

The gleam o' the Divine glory pass'd : and then 
My children brought me fruitage they had pluck'd 
From off the trees of life, and water drawn 
From living springs, and ruddy juice of grapes 
More large and luscious than the fruit which grew 
On Eshcol's sunny vines. Nor deem it strange 
That bodiless spirits partake of meat and drink. 580 
Are not the angels spirits ? and ate they not 
At Mamre, by the tent of Abraham, 
Press'd by his courteous hospitality ? 
And when the manna fell for forty years 
Around the watchfires of that pilgrim host, 
Was it not angel's food — the corn of heaven? 
The Increate alone is self-sustain'd, 
Life in Himself possessing, and all other 
His creatures, from the burning seraphim 
That sing around His everlasting throne, 590 

Even to the moth which floating in the light 
Wings in an hour its little life away, 
Feed on the bounty of a Father's love, 
Who opens wide His hand and satisfies 
All living things with life-sustaining food. 
And so we bless'd the Ever Blessed One, 
And ate and drank with such pure appetite, 



n.] THE BLESSED DEAD. 61 

As gives not pain but pleasure to the feasts 

Of angels. Nor was lacking there the joy 

Of innocent laughter (they who weep on earth 600 

Shall laugh in heaven) and all the genial glow 

Of brotherly endearment, heart to heart 

And eye to eye, after long severance, 

Meeting for ever in our Father's house. 

Sweet and refreshing interlude. 

But soon 
To graver converse turn'd we : and they ask'd, 
With keen expectancy, what last I knew 
Of the great warfare waged by saints on earth ? 
What lights of morning in the golden East 
Streak'd the horizon ? what the tidings sent 610 

From heathen shores and from Emmanuel's land? 
What victories the cross had last achieved 
Over the paling crescent ? whether still 
The doom'd embattlements of Babylon 
Stood in apparent might ? and if the Bride 
Sustain'd her weary vigil, as of old, 
From watch to watch repeating " Till He come ? " 
They ask'd : I answer'd, marvelling to find 
How thin a veil parted the blessed Church 
Triumphant, and that militant on earth ; 820 

And how the wrestlers, racers, combatants, 
Wrestled and ran and fought, encompass'd round 
So closely by a cloud of witnesses. 

Farther I may not linger to relate 



62 THE PARADISE OF [BOOK 

The infinite delights of that first tryst 

With those, who earlier than myself had won 

Their rest, and tasted of the fruit of life. 

It might be many days of earthly time, 

Which pass'd in glory without weariness 

Or measure. But at length our hearts were filPd, 630 

Even to the overflowing brim of joy, 

Each with the other's love ; and forth we pass'd, 

In groups or singly, on our several paths 

Of rest or service : service there is rest, 

Rest, service : for the Paradise of saints, 

Like Eden with its toilless husbandry, 

Has many plants to tend, and flowers to twine, 

And fruit-trees in the garden of the soul, 

That ask the culture of celestial skill. 

Some wander'd amid vines, and flowery meads, 640 

And from the grateful lips of angels learn'd 

More virtues than he knew who spake of trees 

From cedars to the hyssop on the wall. 

Some perfected their skill in dance and song, 

With lyre or lute accompanied, and made 

Those woods and valleys vocal with sweet sounds, 

Sweeter than those which from a thousand birds 

Fill Vallombrosa's vale in spring-time. Here 

It was perpetual spring. Some clomb with ease, 

Swift as the winds, the everlasting hills, 650 

And from their summit bathed in light survey'd 

The glorious landscape. Some in silence mused : 

Heaven has its calm unbroken solitudes 

For prayer and lonely meditation meet. 



EC.] THE BLESSED DEAD. 63 

And some in clusters, walking or recline, 

Heard from an elder saint or guardian spirit 

The awful story of the past, or bent 

Over the mystic chart of prophecy, 

Brother to brother saying, " It is done. 

The day-spring is at hand." 660 

Me Oriel led 
From bower to bower, from peopled glen to glen, 
From saintly company to company, 
And show'd me of the mysteries that fill 
That world of spirits, that nether Paradise, 
That suburb of the New Jerusalem, 
That Beautiful gate of heaven, that vestibule 
Where the saints wait their bright apparelling 
Of glory 'neath the veil now rent which hangs 
Betwixt the Holy and Most Holy Place. 
Children of light, through fields of light we pass'd 670 
Unchallenged, not ungreeted with the smiles 
Of welcomes without number. And I mark'd 
How largely the redeem'd though free to range 
Within the limits almost limitless 
Of those celestial regions, group'd themselves, 
They and their guardian spirits, with other saints, 
Their fellow-pilgrims on the earth. It was 
No rigid severance ; for many walk'd, 
As we were walking, to and fro abroad 
Throughout those blissful mansions : but enough 6S0 
Of chosen and endear'd companionship 
To mark the character of centuries 



64 THE PARADISE OP [BOOK 

And generations, as concentric rings 

Of increase chronicle the growth of trees ; 

Or as the strata of the rocks record, 

Not without many an intercepting vein, 

The onward march of ages. Oriel read 

My wonder, though unspoken, and replied : 

" Remember that the same Omniscient Love 

Design'd this temple built of living stones, 690 

Wherein Himself to dwell for evermore, 

As hung the firmament with globes of light, 

And group'd them, as it pleased Him best, in groups 

Of suns and planets, and in spiral coils 

Of stars innumerable, and decreed 

Amid this maze of constellations each 

Should minister to each, and by one law 

Of gravitation be for ever link'd. 

So by the vast necessity of love, 

Necessity with equal freedom poised, 70U 

Saints cling to saints, angels to angels cleave, 

And men and angels in One Father's house 

Are all as brethren. Not that love can be 

Without the chosen specialties of love, 

The nearest to the nearest most akin. 

But none are strangers here, none sojourners: 

And as the cloudless ages glide away, 

New fountains of delight to us, to all, 

Will open in the fellowship of hearts, 

Unfathom'd by us yet. Nor time will fail ; 710 

For an eternity to come is ours 

With humble contemplation to adore 



Il/| THE BLESSED DEAD. 65 

The counsels of a past eternity. 

But mark who next seem waiting our advance 

In yonder vale." 

Straightway I look'd, and lo, 
We were among the parents of that age 
In which my life was cast — my father's peers — 
Some of them standard-bearers in God's host, 
Who, when their mortal course was finish'd, left 
Large space, and in the front ranks, as they fell, 720 
Till comrades pressing onward fill'd the chasm : 
And others walking in the lowliest paths 
Of earth, now comrades with the high'st in heaven. 
The first who greeted me by name was one 
Whom I had known long since, an aged saint, 
Dwelling all lonely in her little room, 
On scantiest means subsisting and content, 
But with a queenly heart, wide as the world, 
And loving all for His sake who is love : 
Hers now was meet society. And then 730 

Saluted me the venerable man 
Whose writings first waken'd my dying soul 
To deathless life — one of those secret bonds 
Which interlink the family of God. 
But here I must not register the names 
Of these, and spirits of every clime and tongue, 
Who throng'd this region clothed in dazzling white : 
For through them, beut on traversing the fields 
Of Paradise, onward to other ranks 
Of that illimitable host we pass'd, 740 



66 THE PARADISE OF [BOOK 

Their fathers and their fathers' fathers, men 
Whose lamps burn'd brightly once in earthly gloom, 
And now themselves shone forth as stars in heaven, 
Illuminating with eternal light 
The brightness of that filniless firmament. 



So pass'd we on from saintly band to band 
Among those vales resting from all their toil, 
In multitudes more countless than the tribes 
Of Israel when from Dan to Beersheba 
Flocking to Zion's sacred hill they kept 750 

The feast of tabernacles, seven days 
Of song and gladness. In their midst I saw 
Some who appear'd more radiant than the rest, 
And ask'd what meant their bright pre-eminence 
In glory. Oriel answer'd, " These are they 
Of whom the Church on earth so often sings ; 
Some of the martyrs' noble army : these 
For Christ gave up their bodies to be burn'd, 
Or bow'd their necks beneath the murderous sword ; 
Or, though their names appear not on the scroll 7(>0 
Of martyrologists, laid down their life, 
No less a martyrdom in Jesus' eyes, 
For His dear brethren's sake — watching the couch 
Of loathsome sickness or of slow decay ; 
Or binding up the ravages which men, 
Marring God's image, deal on fellow-men ; 
Or visiting the captive in his cell ; 
Or struggling with a burden not their own 
Until their very life-springs wore away. 77 c 

These too are martyrs, brother." 



II.] THE BLESSED DEAD. 67 

As he spake, 
The high supremacy of sacrifice, 
The majesty of service filled my soul 
With thoughts too deep for words. 

And not a few 
I saw there of the goodly fellowship 
Of prophets, the ambassadors who stood 
Age after age amid the scoffing world, 
And lifted up the standard of the cross, 
Unmoved, undaunted. Nor, as some have deem'd, 
Form'd they an order to themselves of saints, 
But mingling moved, like shepherds through their 

flocks, 780 

Amid their fellow-saints, wielding the sway 
By them, by all, felt rather than confess'd, 
Of grateful and predominating love. 
There is predominance in heaven, and grades 
Of lower and superior sanctities ; 
All are not equal there ; for brotherhood 
And freedom both abhor equality, 
The very badge of serfdom ; only there 
It is the true nobility of worth, 

The aristocracy of gentleness, 790 

The power of goodness and of doing good. 

And when I look'd upon those blessed saints, 
Those perfect spirits, albeit the lowest there 
"Was greater than the greatest upon earth, 
For all were clothed in sinless purity, 



68 THE PARADISE OF [BOOK 

At once I knew the principalities 

And virtues and subordinate degrees 

Amongst them. And when Oriel told their names, 

A deep chord vibrated within my heart, 

And past things lived again. And then I saw 800 

That many first were last, and last were first — 

Not all, not most, but many. There were those 

Once foremost in the foremost ranks, not now 

Distinguishable from their peers in light : 

And some, aforetime hidden and unknown, 

Now shone in lustrous dignity sublime. 

But one and all were circled with a cloud 

Of infant spirits, pure mirthful innocents, 

Like sunbeams glancing to and fro, like birds 

Warbling their song of praise. The elder saints 810 

Seem'd to my eyes a countless multitude ; 

But these cherubic babes outnumber'd them, 

As the dark pine-trees of Siberia's wilds, 

Unfell'd immeasurable forests, yield 

In numbers to the ferns and summer flowers 

Which grow beneath their shadowing boughs, and 

fringe 
Their gnarled roots with beauty. Heaven methinks — 
So awful is eternal life, so vast 
Its lights and shadows —^ heaven itself would seem 
Too solemn and severe without its choirs 820 

Of infants revelling in innocence, 
Who never knew a touch of sinful grief, 
But live in joy, and joy because they live. 
So hath God will'd. So will'd the Son of God 



II.] THE BLESSED DEAD. 69 

What time He took the children in His arms, 

Laying His hands on them and blessing them, 

And saying, " Suffer them to come to Me, 

Forbid them not, for of such babes as these 

And sucklings is My kingdom in the heavens." 

But time and space would fail me to narrate 830 

All I beheld in that great under-world ; 

The golden grain of threescore centuries 

Reap'd from a thousand harvest-fields and stored 

In heaven. Backward from age to age we traced 

The course of time along those wastes of gloom, 

When darkness brooded o'er the Church of God, 

A darkness amid which the lurid flames 

Of persecution blazed, and witnesses, 

A mystic time and times and half a time, 

In ashes and in sackcloth prophesied, 840 

Now clothed in dazzling light : and with them those 

Who underneath the skirts of Antichrist 

Bewilder'd clung to Christ, and led by Him, 

In cell or cloister groped their way to heaven : 

Not one was wanting there. 

And there we saw 
The children of the Gospel's holier dawn, 
Austin, and Chrysostom, and Cyprian, 
And Irenaeus, and blest Polycarp, 
Names representing many not unlike 
In love and labor, fellow-travellers 850 

On earth, now fellow-citizens in heaven. 
And there was holy Antipas, and there 



70 . THE PARADISE OF [BOOK 

The protomartyr Stephen ; and the band 

Whom Jesus chose, the Apostolic Twelve, 

As heralds of His love to all the world. 

Peter and John were walking, as of old 

They used to walk along the silver sand 

Wash'd by the waters of Gennesaret, 

In closest converse ; and beside them he 

Of all men likest Christ, whose cross he preach'd 860 

Unwearied from Jerusalem to Rome, 

Burning with fire or melting into tears, 

As God's Spirit moved upon his human spirit — 

The myriad-minded lion-hearted Paul : 

Amid heaven's peers peerless triumvirate. 

Yet as we pass'd they bent a beaming smile 

On me the humblest and the last arrived 

Of all their brotherhood, so full of love 

It seem'd to promise feasts of intercourse 

In after ages. And not far from them, 870 

Half hidden by a branching tree of life, 

Type of herself, the blessed Mary sate, 

In calm humility musing alone 

Upon those mysteries of grace, which seem'd 

Vaster in length and breadth and depth and height, 

The measureless dimensions of God's love, 

As still the Bridal of the Church drew near. 

Hard by, Elizabeth and Zachary, 

Anna the prophetess, and Simeon stood, 

Engraved on whose countenance I traced 880 

The light of summer suns and mellow tints 

Of autumn, not the wintry frosts of age. 



II. J THE BLESSED DEAD. 71 

And with them he who in the wilderness 
Was the voice heralding the Word, the star 
That hid itself within the golden beams 
Of the uprisen Sun of Righteousness. 

Nor was there any chasm betwixt the saints 
Who wrought before and after. They were one, — 
One building, and one body, and one bride. 

I saw the wise sons of Betirah there, 890 

Hillel who loosed, and Shammai who bound, 
And Rabban, Hillel's son, and Jonathan ; 
And near them those great worthies, who deserved 
So nobly of their noble fatherland, 
The dauntless and heroic Maccabees ; 
And there the mother of those tortured sons, 
Who in their dying suffer'd sevenfold death, 
Yet flinch'd not : round her clustering they stood 
A retinue of everlasting praise ; 

She was not childless now. Esther was there, 900 

More lovely than upon that golden eve 
When she her royal captor captive led ; 
And saintly Daniel, and the three who walk'd 
Unsinged and scatheless in the fiery flame ; 
And all the holy seers from Malachi 
To Samuel ; there the rapt Ezekiel, 
And plaintive Jeremy, and he whose lips 
A seraph touch'd with a live coal of fire. 
And there the kingly Hezekiah moved 
Among the thrones of heaven ; and David's son 910 



72 THE PARADISE OF [BOOK 

"Was there ; and David the beloved himself, 

Touching a sweeter harp than that he struck 

Upon the grassy slopes of Bethlehem. 

And there I saw the captains of God's hosts, 

Samson and Jephthah, not without his child, 

Who for her country and her father's vow 

A virgin lived and died ; and Gideon ; 

And Deborah the warrior prophetess ; 

And him who led his people Israel 

Through Jordan's smitten waves, the son of Nun ; 920 

And, of the elder saints haply the first, 

Moses the man of God, who, looking down 

On all the royalties of Egypt, sought 

A nobler sceptre and a name inscribed, 

Not in the hieroglyphic scrolls of men, 

But in God's book of life. And there were all 

The pilgrim fathers in the better land 

They long'd for ; Joseph and the patriarchs, 

The princely Israel, and that child of prayer, 

The meditative son of Abraham, 930 

And Abraham himself, the friend of God ; 

And Noah and his children, who by faith 

Condemn'd the faithless world ; and those who pray'd 

In time's first dawn the matins of the Church, 

Seated around our primal ancestors, 

The father and the mother of mankind, 

Who through the Son of Man, the woman's Seed, 

Had won in heaven a nobler Paradise 

Than Eden, forfeited and lost by sin. 



H.] THE BLESSED DEAD. 73 

Long while I gazed in silent awe ; for these 910 

Were only some familiar names and few 
Among ten thousand times ten thousand saints, 
All diversely felicitous, and each 
On each reflecting gladness. But at last 
The fire of love and admiration burn'd 
So hot within me, that I spake and said, 
u O blessed Oriel, can the highest heavens 
Surpass the glory of this Paradise ? 
If only all I loved were present now, 
Here, here methinks I could for ever dwell. 950 

What beauty can excel these radiant forms ? 
What do they lack of excellence or grace? 
Are they not swifter than the viewless winds ? 
Are they not pure as is the light itself? 
Say, are there brighter robes in heaven, or harps 
Of tenderer music ? Or have they who walk 
The golden streets and fill with songs of praise 
The mansions of the New Jerusalem, 
More open vision of the Lord their God, 
And in Him more divine beatitude ? " 960 

Smiling, my guardian answer'd, u Jt is sweet 
Be sure for me, who hither led thy steps, 
To hear thy words of rapturous delight 
In this fair world of purity and peace, 
And in these blessed spirits who here throng 
Heaven's portals, waiting their investiture 
With resurrection glory. Yes, the Bride 
Is almost ready for her bridal robes : 



74 THE PARADISE OF [BOOK 

The heavenly temple is almost complete. 

How different from that hour, for I was here, 970 

When the first saint, disrobed of mortal flesh, 

The martyr'd Abel, trod these fields, and we 

His angel brothers sought, and not in vain, 

To gladden his else solitary rest. 

Since then six thousand years have pass'd : and now 

The countless multitudes of God's elect, 

The festal throng and church of the firstborn, 

Are well nigh gather'd home. Yet think not this 

The crown and final summit of their joy. 

They are not perfect here, whose bodies sleep 980 

And moulder crumbling in the silent tomb, 

Death's trophies ; for the union, flesh and spirit, 

In one compacted, was the fruit mature 

Of God's eternal counsels, when He breathed 

Into the moulded clay the breath of life, 

And man became a living soul : and when 

The dust returns unto its kindred dust, 

And the lone spirit to God, this strange divorce 

Is the permitted reign, gloomy though brief, 

Of the dread king of terrors. Here unclothed 990 

Of their own natural apparelling, 

Man's proper garb, their puissance is weak 

To that of angels who were form'd by God 

Pure spirits. Nor is this Paradise of saints, 

Albeit large and glorious, more than one 

Of many mansions in our Father's house, 

Wherein His children, by their birthright free 

Of His whole universe, and citizens 



II.] THE BLESSED DEAD. 75 

Of the celestial city, wait the hour 

Which shall for ever consummate their bliss. 100ft 

But see who yonder walk." 

I look'd, and, lo, 
Two diverse from the rest appear'd. Their form 
Was that of men, and yet not mortal men ; 
Their likeness spiritual, yet not spirits alone ; 
So pure the texture of that robe they wore, 
The light translucent through transfigured flesh, 
As onyx stones, or ruby flashing fire. 

" Who are these," I exclaim'd, " these royal priests ? 
Are they Elias, and that saint who walk'd 
With God and was not ? " 

" Rightly hast thou judged." 
Oriel made answer; "and their presence here [1010 
Is pledge and earnest to the Blessed Dead 
Of that great resurrection day, whose dawn 
Already gilds the Easter of the world : 
They with the saints who rose when Jesus rose 
Are wave-sheafs of the harvest. But of these 
And other mysteries in earth and heaven 
Conversing, on the range of yonder hills, 
Whose summits bound these beatific fields, 
And look far off into the waste beyond, 102(j 

If such thy pleasure, let us wait the end." 

END OF THE SECOND BOOK. 




Book CfjfrtJ. 

THE PRISON OF THE LOST. 

Come, Thou Eternal Spirit, who on the face 

Of the abysmal waters, when the earth 

Was without form and void, brooding didst move, 

Silent Omnipotence, unseen but felt, 

The while beneath Thy penetrating power 

Light at the voice of God brake forth, a faint 

Far tremor in the sunless starless gloom, 

Creation's twilight, nor didst cease Thy work, 

Till looking forth upon the vast expanse, 

By mountains, rivers, lakes, and placid seas 10 

Diversified, on that first sabbath's eve, 

Infinite Goodness said that all was good : 

Come Thou, and brood over the deep unknown 

Which bounds the known in me, nor suffer clouds, 

Born of unfathomable mysteries, 

To cast their shade athwart heaven's blessed light, 



THE PRISON OF THE LOST. 77 

WHIo, led by Thee, I speak of other worlds 
Than those fair fields I lately walk'd, and tell 
What from the' utmost precincts of Paradise 
I and my angel guardian saw and heard 20 

Of outer darkness and Tartarean night. 
Come ; for Thou dwellest in the highest heavens, 
Thyself inhabiting eternity, 
Alone, Supreme, beyond all time and space, 
Yet deignest in the contrite heart to' abide 
As in Thy chosen temple ; Spirit of Truth, 
Who, in Thy Pentecostal might, from heaven 
Descending as a mighty rushing wind, 
Didst rest upon Thy suppliant saints of old 
In likeness as of cloven tongues of fire, nu 

A crown of lambent and innocuous flame ; 
■ Purge Thou mine eyes from film, my heart from fear ; 
Inspire, illumine, fortify my soul ; 
Breathe, O Thou Breath Divine, on my emprise ; 
Touch my fain lips, strengthen my feeble hands ; 
Nor let my footstep unawares intrude 
On counsels Thou art pleased to veil from man, 
Nor where Thy lamp shines dimly press too far 
Adventurous, nor in coward disbelief 
Shrink back appall'd where Thou dost lead the way. 40 

As sweeps a breeze from off the spicy plains 
Of Florence to the lonely Apennines, 
Its passage only mark'd by rustling leaves 
In the thick olive-groves, and stronger waves 
Of light upon the mountain rivulets, 



78 THE PRISON OF THE LOST. [BOOK 

So from that peopled glen, where last we saw 

The parents of mankind, Oriel and I 

Along those plains and smiling valleys pass'd, 

And up a forest-clad ravine that scarr'd 

The bastions of those everlasting hills, 50 

Heaven's boundary, and, emerging, found ourselves 

On a vast table-land, leagues upon leagues 

In breadth, which traversed, led our rapid course 

To other hills hidden before from view : 

These scaled, we landed on a second plain 

Sublime, engirdled by yet distant peaks, 

The triple wall and battlements of heaven. 

Harder than adamant these rocks, yet seem'd 

Of such original substance, as those beds 

Of ice which with the flow of centuries 60 

Creep along Alpine glens : rocks, half opaque, 

Half lucid, where the piercing light was lost 

In depths impervious of intensest green : 

Ramparts far loftier than those giant hills, 

With rhododendrons clad, and crown'd with snows, 

The ancient Himalays. But, light as air, 

We clomb that uttermost of Paradise ; 

A path no vulture's eye hath ever seen, 

A height no eagle's wing hath ever soar'd, 

And standing on its extreme ridge, look'd down, 70 

Lone sentinels. Strange promontory ours: 

Behind us lay the radiant fields of bliss ; 

But who, unblanch'd with terror, may describe 

The scene before us ? Not in terraces 

Or tiers of hills, mountains on mountains built. 



ni.] THE PRISON OF THE LOST. 79 

Yielding access, though arduous, but a sheer 

Precipitate descent, a horrid chasm, 

Few paces off from where we stood, there yawn'd 

Right at our feet : down, ever down, a depth 

Equal the height of those eternal hills, 80 

And how much lower no created eye 

Might fathom : for a sea of clouds midway 

Surged up and sank, and sinking, surged again, 

Not vaporous mists alone, but sulphur smoke, 

Mingled with sparkles, and with lurid flames, 

Earth, air, fire, water, formless, shapeless, waste, 

A chaos of all elements disturb'd, 

Fused and confused, which seem'd a billowing tide, 

Hither and thither sway'd, storm-tost, suspense, 

Betwixt that awful cliff of Paradise 90 

Rolling, and the far distant shore beyond. 

Was it a shore beyond ? At first it seem'd 
Darkness alone, the absence of all light, 
Blackness of darkness. But the while I gazed 
Astonied, and mine eye more used became 
To bear the dazzling terror of that gloom, 
Dim lineaments before me slowly stretch'd, 
And distances receding without end 
Into the utter void ; the realm of night, 
A land of darkness and of gloominess, 100 

Dark mountains, and yet darker vales between, 
And waveless depths profound, darkest of all ; 
A world o'ershadow'd with the pall of death, 
The sepulchre of life. But whence it came 



80 THE PRISON OF THE LOST. [BOOK 

Those outlines were not wholly' invisible, 

I knew not. Loom'd there such a sullen glow 

As fire suppress'd, not quench'd, emits : or such 

Faint earthlight as our planet casts reflex 

On the dull surface of the crescent moon ; 

Or likest that sad mockery of day 110 

He sees who, standing near as dread permits, 

Beside a stream of burning lava, views 

The blasted landscape in the dead of night. 

Awe-struck I gazed ; but for relief ere long 
Turn'd to the happy fields of light, which lay 
Behind us, nurturing my soul awhile 
With their pure joys. Then first I ask'd myself 
What made that heavenly Eden luminous 
With glory, and look'd up instinctively 
On the blue crystal of the firmament, 120 

Blue only from intensity of clear, 
As if expecting there some orb of light ; 
But there no lamp appear'd, no sun, no moon, 
No star far glimmering in the azure vault ; 
And yet the islands in the southern seas, 
Basking in light when rains have clear'd the sky, 
Were never bathed in radiance pure as this : 
And Oriel saw my wonder and replied : 

u Brother, remember Paradise is heaven, 
Heaven's portal, and the portal of God's house 130 

Needs not the shining of created light ; 
For He, the Light of Light, is ever there, 



III.] THE PRISON OF THE LOST. 81 

And, where Tie is, darkness can ne'er exist ; 

Such virtue His eternal Presence sheds 

Throughout the courts where He abides well pleased, 

Rejoicing in the beauty' of holiness. 

Far otherwise those realms of utter night, 

Which lie beyond the mighty gulf thou seest, 

Are darken'd with the shadow of His wrath. 

That which is glory here is darkness there ; 140 

As when the fiery cloudy pillar stood, 

A shield betwixt the hosts of Israel 

And baffled Egypt's chariots. Nor can those 

"Who fain would pass from us to yonder world 

On thoughts of pity' intent, or hence to us, 

Traverse with foot or wing yon chasm profound : 

Not for the interval, — for as thou seest 

The landscapes of those desolate regions lie 

Within our range, and listening we might catch 

(So subtle here the waves of light and sound) ISO 

Far off its cries and voices ; and as spirits 

Ourselves, with speed of lightnings, to and fro 

Go and return ; but that a spiritual law, 

Akin to that magnetic force which binds 

The mortal habitants of earth to earth, 

Has laid its viewless interdict between, 

And bound the sons of darkness and of li^ht 

Each to their proper home. There is no path 

From hell to heaven, from heaven to hell direct. 

But haply thou remember'st, ere we touch'd 160 

The outer confines of this world of spirits, 

A roadway wrapt in clouds aud gloom which stretch'd 



82 THE PRISON OF THE LOST. [BOOK 

Far to the left of our celestial course, 

A roadway with funereal blackness hung 

As ours with bridal light, and resonant 

With sighings of despair, as ours with songs 

Of triumph. To the gates of hell it leads, 

Meet access for meet bourn, and down its track 

The angels, the executors of wrath, 

Bear in their hands lost men and rebel spirits, 170 

Consigning them to their awarded prison 

Of darkness, till the judgment trumpet sounds." 

" And hast thou ever trodden that dread path, 
And enter'd those eternal gates, and seen 
The secrets of that penal world ? " I ask'd, 
And my voice falter'd as I spake. 

"Yes, thrice," 
Oriel replied with calm unfaltering lip, 
And with his words his countenance benign 
Grew more and more severely beautiful, 
The beauty of triumphant holiness, 180 

The calm severity of burning love : 
" Thrice in my ministry of saints hath God 
Ordain'd me to fulfil His missions there ; 
And, brother, His behests are always good ; 
Pure goodness without stain of evil, light 
"Without the shadow of a shade of dark. 
The earliest that I trod that awful road, 
It was my charge, with other spirits elect, 
A legion arm'd of warrior seraphim, 



in.] THE PRISON OF THE LOST. 83 

To bear in chains to their dark prison-house 190 

Those angels who forsook their high estate 

Through alien and unnatural lust. Of this 

Thou shalt learn more hereafter. But the first 

Of disembodied human souls I bore 

To his own place in yonder realms of wrath 

Was one I fondly loved, of noble birth, 

Of high and generous bearing, who, alas, 

Like some brave vessel cast on shifting sands, 

Made shipwreck of his faith and sank to ruin. 

" " In brief, the story of his life was this : — 200 

Three centuries and more had pass'd away 
Since Jesus' birth in Bethlehem ; and he, 
Of whom I tell thee, was a chieftain, born 
Of Christian mother, but of heathen sire. 
This was the bitter fountain of a stream 
Of bitterness. For when in evil hour 
His mother gave her heart to one who loved 
The gods she loathed, and loathed the cross she loved — 
She married immortality to death, 

Faith to distrust, and hope to dark despair : 210 

Discordant wedlock, whence discordant fruit. 
Fondly she dream'd by ceaseless prayers to win 
Her spouse to Christ. Vain hope ! her broken troth 
Hung like a leaden weight on every prayer : 
And he, a haughty consular of Rome, 
Scorn'd her low creed, himself incredulous, 
Yet loved the lovely votary. And when 
The sweet pledge of their bridal joy was given, 



84 THE PRISON OF THE LOST. [BOOK 

And she would dedicate their child to God, 

With equal scorn he yielded to her tears 220 

A thing indifferent. In a lonely cave 

Amid a group of trembling fugitives, — 

!For hatred then pursued the Christian name, — 

An aged priest baptized him Theodore. 

God's gift, his mother whisper'd. And thenceforth 

She pour'd upon him, him her only child, 

The priceless treasures of a mother's heart. 

I was his chosen guardian. No light watch, 

No easy vigil ; for his home, unlike 

The moated fortress of a faithful house, 230 

Was ever open to the spirits malign. 

But not an arrow reach'd him. From himself, 

And not from hellish fraud or violence, 

His ruin. mysterious web of life ; 

Its warp of faith, its woof of unbelief; 

The mother teaching prayers the father mock'd ! 

And yet her spell was earliest on her child, 

And strongest. And the fearless Theodore 

Was call'd by other men, and call'd himself, 

A Christian. Love, emotion, gratitude, 240 

All that was tenderest in a tender heart, 

All most heroic in a hero's soul, 

Pleaded on Christ's behalf. And oft I hoped, 

Hoped against hope, that his was real faith, 

A graft, a germ, a blossom — hoped till I 

Could hope no longer, for I never saw 

That warrior (he was train'd to arms) prostrate 

A broken suppliant at the throne of love. 



ni.] THE PRISON OF THE LOST. 85 

" The hour drew on that tried him. Constantine, 
The first of Christian emperors, was now 250 

Marching with lion springs from land to land 
Triumphant. Him to meet in mortal light 
Maxentius hurried, vowing to his gods 
That, if they crcwn'd his eagles, he would crush 
The cross throughout the universe of Rome. 
And Theodore, won by his mother's prayers, 
Was with the faithful army ; when it chanced, 
In sack of a beleaguer'd city, he saved 
A Grecian maiden and her sire from death : 
Her name Irene, his Iconocles : 260 

Among the princes he a prince, of all 
Fair women she the fairest of her race, 
Not only for her symmetry of form, 
But for the music and the love which breathed 
In every motion and in every word. 
Yet both were worshippers at Phoebus' shrine, 
Fast-bound in midnight-dark idolatry. 
And, when the enamour'd Theodore besought 
His daughter of her sire, Iconocles 
Made answer, * Never shall my child be his 270 

Who kneels before a malefactor's cross. 
Thy choice Irene, or the Crucified.' 
And she by oath affirm'd her father's word. 

" Then was there tempest in the swelling heart 
Of Theodore : truth struggled and untruth 
In terrible collision. For an hour 
He paced before his tent irresolute: 



86 THE PRISON OF THE LOST. [BOOK 

Now cleaving to his mother's faith, alas, 

More hers than his ; and now by passionate gusts 

Driven from his anchorage, a helmless bark. 280 

Conscience was quick ; and God's Spirit strove with him 

'Twas mine to ward the powers of darkness off; 

And singly with himself the awful fight 

Was foughten, and, oh woe ! for ever woe ! 

Was lost. And he said, ' Adam chose to die, 

Not circumvented, not deceived like Eve, 

But braving death itself for her dear sake. 

So will I die. I cannot leave that spirit 

Angelic in a human form enshrined. 

She must be mine for ever. Life were death 290 

Without her.' And straight entering, where she lean'd 

Upon her father, as white jasmine leans 

On a dark pine, slowly, resolvedly, 

As measuring every word with fate, he said, 

' Irene, if the choice be endless woe, 

For thy sake I renounce my mother's faith : 

I cannot, will not leave thee. I am thine.' 

" And through the dusky twilight that same eve 
The three forsook the tents of Constantine 
And join'd Maxentius' host. And without pause, 300 
Amid his early friends, Iconocles 
Unto the marriage altar proudly led 
The offering who had won so great a foe : 
Small space was there for hymeneal pomp : 
A soldier's spousal 'mid the clash of arms. 



III.] THE PRISON OF TIIE LOST. 87 

u That very night Great Constantino beheld 
The fiery cross upon the sky, and read 
The signal, In hoc vinces. And the morn, 
Strange portent, saw far floating o'er his ranks 
The labarum emblazon'd with the cross. 310 

The armies rush'd to battle. Theodore 
Rose from his nuptial couch, a desperate man ; 
No thought of penitence, none of retreat ; 
But in his eye a wild disastrous fire, 
Sign of the fiercer flame he nursed within. 
Lost, ruin'd, hopeless, and as glad to' escape 
The tempest raging in his heart, he strode 
[mpetuously into the thickest fight, 
And prodigies of valor wrought that day, 
Felling beneath his fratricidal blade 320 

Whole ranks, his comrades and his brethren late, 
Brethren in faith and aims. But as he stamp'd 
Upon the fallen in defiant pride, 
And now as madden'd or inspired by hell 
Pour'd blasphemies upon the Holy Name 
His mother taught his infant lip to lisp 
Lq blessings, even as he spake the words, 
An unknown arrow, not unfledged with prayer, 
Transpierced his eye and brain. Sudden he fell : 
One short sharp cry ; one strong convulsive throe ; 330 
And in a moment his unhappy spirit 
Was from its quivering tabernacle loosed. 

" Oh awful passage ! from the din and roar 
Of battle, from the trampling of horse-hoofs. 



88 THE PRISON OF THE LOST. [iiOOS 

The roll of chariots, and the measured tread 

Of thousands, from the brazen trumpet's blare 

Drowning the shouts of victors, and the cries 

Of wounded, agonizing, dying men, 

From the worst dissonance of earth and time, — 

The soul, in an eye's twinkling, brought to face 310 

The calm deep silence of eternity. 

" As stunn'd, the disembodied spirit awhile 
Fix'd upon things unseen a vacant gaze : 
But quickly' awaking from that dreadful swoon 
To worse reality, he cried, the first 
If not the strongest passion of his life 
Surviving all the earthquake shock of death, 
' Mother, where art thou, mother ? where ami?' 
And not till then emermnsj on his view 
I spake and said, * Lost spirit, it is not mine 350 

To aggravate thy utter wretchedness 
By words of idle grief or vain rebuke, 
But to convey thee to that viewless world 
Where thou must wait thy sentence from the lips 
Of infinite, supreme, eternal Truth. 
But thus far only, to anticipate 
Resistance ; — to resist were futile here : 
Almighty Power hath given thee to my charge, 
And thou wert strengthless in my grasp. Our road 
Lies yonder. Lost one, rise and come with me.' 36u 
So saying I laid my hand upon his hand, 
And through his nerveless spirit he felt the touch 
Of might superior to his own, and shrank 



ni.J THE PRISON OF THE LOST. 89 

Appall'd, but soon remembering my words, 
Yielded, and went with me the way I trod, 
In tearless silence and in mute despair. 

" It is not thus with all when first they wake 
To consciousness of ruin. Some straightway 
Will wring their hands in agony, and weep, 
And pour their lamentations forth in words, 370 

And wail for bitter anguish. Others strive 
With proud reluctancies and vain despite 
Against their dark inevitable doom. 
Others, palsied with terror, shivering stand. 
Others curse their creation. Theodore 
Was diverse from such men on earth, and now 
Wa3 diverse. As I spake, at one fell glance 
He seem'd to measure the abyss profound 
Before him, and by terrible resolve, 
Alas, too late submissive, to accept 380 

The everlasting punishment of sin. 

" At first our pathway was the same as that 
Which led thee homeward, brother. Through the 

heaven 
Which wraps the earth in its cerulean robe, 
And through the starry firmament, until 
The sun which lightens the terrestrial globe 
Paled like a distant lamp, slowly we pass'd ; 
Slowly, — I had no heart for speed, nor was 
The King's commission urgent. He delights 
In mercy, and His embassies of grace :i9( 



90 THE PRISON OF THE LOST. [BOOK 

Have never found seraphic wings too swift : 

But judgment is His strange and dreadful work. 

And, as with measured step we trod adown 

That highway through the heavens precipitate, 

My hopeless captive gazed a long last gaze 

Upon the fading sun and passing stars 

As signs which he should never more behold : 

And drawn from out his bosom's depths at last 

A groan brake from him, and he sobb'd aloud — 

* My mother, oh my mother, from thy love 400 

I learn'd to love those silent orbs of light, 

God's watchers thou didst call them, as they peer'd 

Evening by evening on my infant sleep, 

And mingled with my every boyish dream : 

Are they now shining on thy misery ? 

Who, now that I am gone, will wipe thine eyes ? 

Who, mother, bind thy bruised and broken heart ? 

Broken, by whom ? by me, thy nestling babe, 

Thy darling child, thy pride in arms ; by me, 

Thy wretched, renegade, apostate son.' 410 

" So mourn'd he, and I answer'd, ' Theodore, 
Thou hast enough to bear of things that are, 
Without this load of unsubstantial grief. 
Thy mother knew not thine apostasy, 
Nor otherwise will deem of thee than slain 
One of the Christian host, the little while 
Weeping she sojourns in the vale of tears. 
Such fear she never harbor'd, and the cloud 
Of mercy veils thy ruin from her eye, 



in.] THE PRISON OF THE LOST. 91 

Until the awful shades of time are seen 420 

In the clear noon-day of eternity. 
Thus far it is permitted thee to know/ 

" My words were only the bare utterance 
Of truth, but never will this heart forget 
The impress of the look he cast on me. 
He had not wept before ; but now a tear 
Hung on his trembling lids, through which he look'd 
Such gratitude as utter hopelessness 
May render, like the Grecian fire that burns 
Far under the deep waves, a look which said, 430 

I thank thee as the damn'd alone can thank 
Lost as I am, hell will not be such hell, 
The while my mother thinks of me in heaven.' 

" Again in speechless silence we moved on, 
Until that billowy sea of mists and clouds 
Which wraps the world of spirits appear'd in sight : 
And to our nearer step the avenue 
Celestial open'd its translucent road, 
Emitting floods of glory ; and there distinct, 
Hovering upon its golden skirts, we saw 440 

A group of angels waiting to receive 
An aged pilgrim home, and heard far off 
Their jubilant acclamations. Ours, alas ! 
Another path. Far to the left it led, 
Gloomy as night. And as we turn'd aside 
From those fair portals, piteously I mark'd 
The longing, lingering, almost loving look 



92 THE PRISON OF THE LOST. [BOOK 

Wkich my unhappy captive cast behind, 

As if heaven's sights and sounds, once seen and heard, 

Might haply prove a gracious memory 450 

Amid the cries of everlasting woe 

And discords without end. 

" But now the light 
Was fading : shadows into shadows gloom'd 
More awful ; and obscurity itself 
Became more inexpressibly obscure, 
More solid, as the interposing clouds 
High overhead, beneath us, and beyond, 
Built up impervious ramparts every way 
Except the desolate ravine we trod. 
Night reign'd sole monarch here, and spread around 460 
Palpable darkness, darkness unrelieved 
Save by the radiance of my form, a faint 
And feeble torch in that ungenial air, 
But yet enough to show the massive sides 
Of fogs impenetrable. Never yet 
Saw I such darkness : for, when last I march d 
This dreadful road, I came accompanied 
By a whole legion arm'd of spirits elect, 
Whose light, each on the other, blaze on blaze, 
Reflected, and turn'd midnight into noon. 470 

But now I was alone — the Lord of Hosts 
Makes all His servants lean on His sole arm — 
Alone, my clinging captive and myself : 
Though in the distance more than once methought 
I heard the rushing of cherubic wings, 
And. like a glimmering; meteor, caught the flash 



III.] THE PRISON OF THE LOST. 93 

Of some good angel's transitory flight. 

Haply the whole ravine equals in length, 

Nor more than equals, that resplendent track 

By which my courier angels bore thee on 480 

To sound of lyres, and lutes, and welcome songs, 

Up to the pearly gates of Paradise ; 

But here our flight was difficult and slow, 

And seven times seven appear'd the weary length 

Of that interminable road. At last 

A dull and ruddy glow tinctured the gloom . 

Not light, but something which made black itself 

Not viewless. As to one standing aloof, 

When Etna or Vesuvius pour their wrath 

[n giant folds of smoke voluminous, 490 

A gloaming, from the fiery crater cast, 

Paints from below the dark impending mass ; 

So to our eyes the steep descent became 

Not all invisible, its cloudy w T alls 

And wide abysses cavernous betwixt 

Of horrid emptiness. But on we moved, 

And swerved not to the right hand or the left, 

For now, far off", fronting our path profound, 

Before us rose the iron gates of hell. 

" TVe paused ; for lo, before these dreadful doors 500 
Waved what appear'd a fiery sword, or swoids 
Innumerable, haply not unlike 
That flaming falchion, which at Eden's gate 
Revolving every way, flame within flame, 
Guarded the tree of life. Only these blades 



94 THE PRISON OF THE LOST. [BOOK 

Were vast as are the rays a setting sun, 

Hidden itself, will sometimes proudly cast 

Up to heaven's vault athwart a thunder cloud. 

But straight, as if they knew my mission, these 

Parted to right and left, and oped a way 510 

High overarch'd with fire, through which we pass'd 

Unscathed : and of themselves, dreadful to see, 

The adamantine doors of hell recoil'd 

Back, slowly back, with ponderous noise, — as when 

An Alpine avalanche moves from its ridge 

And with one crash of ruin overwhelms 

A valley's life, — and with their harsh recoil 

Disclosed the secrets of that world of woe. 

" Brother, come stand with me upon the edge 
Of this far-looking cliff, which overhangs 520 

The gulf betwixt that cursed land and ours 
Impassable. Not otherwise that day, 
Nor seen in other than yon dusky glow, 
The infernal realms, when we had pass'd the gates, 
Beneath us lay outstretch'd. Hills, valleys, plains, 
All mantled in disastrous twilight, couch'd 
Under our feet. But then it was no hour 
For marvel or for mute astonishment. 
Straight from the threshold of those gates sublime 
Through the oppressive sultry atmosphere 530 

I guided our slant flight, until midway 
Upon a barren mountain's steep ascent, 
(Yonder it rises girt with lesser hills,) 
Where a vast glen was ramparted with rocks, 
Alighting I relaxed my captive's hand. 



HI.] THE PRISON OF THE LOST. 95 

tt And then and there upon that guilty man 
The Eye of everlasting righteousness 
Open'd. God look'd upon him. Through and through 
His naked spirit, searching its darken'd depths, 
Pass'd like a flame of fire, that Dreadful Eye, 540 

Pass'd and repass'd, and passing still abode 
Upon him ; till the very air he breathed 
Seem'd to his sense one universal flame 
Of wrath, eternal wrath, the wrath to come. 
And yet the glory of that majesty, 
That burning brightness, shone not then full orb ? d, 
But veil'd in part ; for disembodied souls, 
Dismantled of their proper robe of flesh, 
Could neither suffer nor sustain the weight 
Of that unclouded Holiness Divine, 550 

Which in the acre of asjes will subdue 
All foes beneath the footstool of His throne. 
So half eclipsed it shone : and a low wail 
Ere long brake from those miserable lips — 
* O God, and is this hell ? and must this last 
For ever ? would I never had been born ! 
Why was I born ? I did not choose my birth. 

Thou, who didst create me, uncreate, 

1 pray thee. By Thine own omnipotence 

Quench Thou this feeble spark of life in me. 560 

Why should I longer live? I never more 

Can serve Thee : that Thy justice interdicts. 

I am no adversary worthy Thee. 

Can power be magnified on strengthlessness ? 

Put forth Thy might but once, and crush a worm, 



96 THE PRISON OF THE LOST. [~BOOK 

For love, for hate unequal both. O Christ, 

I kneel, I fall a suppliant at Thy throne. 

I ask not pardon. Grace, I know, is past : 

Redemption cannot cross those iron gates. - 

But art not Thou the Son of God? Thyself 570 

God over all, supreme for evermore ? 

And are not all things possible with God ? 

O God, destroy me. Grant this latest boon 

Thy wretched ruin'd child will ever ask, 

And suffer me to be no more at all.' 

" And then at last I spoke, * Is this thy hope, 
Unhappy one, this aimless bootless prayer ? 
Thou era vest what Omnipotence can do : 
Know that Omnipotence can but perform 
The counsels which Omniscient Love decrees. 580 

And therefore vainly dost thou now invoke 
Almighty power to thwart All-seeing Love. 
It cannot be. Discord can never dwell 
Within the bosom of eternal Peace, 
Nor darkness stain that uncreated Light. 
What then remains for thee ? To flee were vain, 
And would but bring thee adamantine bonds ; 
And fresh rebellion here at once incur 
Immediate instantaneous punishment. 
Free service, which is heaven's perennial joy, 590 

Guilt, said'st thou truly, interdicts. What then ? 
Passive submission is the only way 
Left thee to serve thy Maker. Hades knows 
No other law. The judgment is beyond. 



III.] THE PRISON OF THE LOST. 97 

Meanwhile this valley is thy prison assigned; 

And not in utter solitariness, 

For other souls, who like thyself have sinn'd, 

Some known to thee on earth and some unknown, 

Here wait their sentence, whose companionship 

Will mitigate or aggravate thy woe, 600 

As thou submittest to the flame that burns 

The sin in thee with fire unquenchable, 

Or vainly chafest against its scorching ray : 

This yet is in thy choice. Haply at times 

This valley will be trodden by the feet 

Of angels on the embassies of God : 

But at rare intervals, for many and vast 

Are the dark fields of punishment, and few 

The ministrations of the sons of light 

In this the land of overshadowing deafch. 610 

And here there is no sentinel but God ; 

His Eye alone is jailer ; and His Hand 

The only executioner of wrath. 

And now I leave thee : let my words abide 

With thee, lest added torment scourge thy soul : 

Passive submission is the law of hell.' 

" But, even as I turn'd to leave him, slowly 
Ke raised his eyes, bow'd hitherto beneath 
The intolerable Eye of Holiness, 

Which rested on him evermore. And lo ! 620 

Far off, beyond this intervening chasm, 
Through an embrasure in heaven's triple wall, 
Where mountains distant mountains intersect, 
7 



98 THE PRISON OF THE LOST. [BOOK 

He caught a glimpse, permitted him by God, 

Of some sequester'd spot in Paradise. 

It riveted his gaze : it fill'd his soul 

With longing: and unconsciously he cried, 

'Am I asleep? there is no slumber here. 

Ts it a dream ? there are no dreams in hell. 

T see, I see far off the fields of bliss ; G30 

And there are figures moving to and fro : 

I see them by the liquid fountains walking, 

And resting underneath the trees of life. 

There I may never walk, there never rest : 

But oh, for one small ministry of love ! 

Oh, for one leaf of those delicious groves 

To soothe the scars of my eternal pain ! 

Oh, for one drop of those pure rivulets 

To cool, not slake, my agonizing thirst ! ' 

" I could not leave him thus, vainly consumed 640 
By idle phantasies of hope, to which* 
The fabled pangs of Tantalus were ease, 
And in mere pity answer'd, ' Theodore, 
Those whom thou seest are reaping now the seed 
They sow'd on earth, and thou must do the same. 
Time is the seed-plot for eternity ; 
Eternity the harvest-field of time. 
Thy lot is fixed, and theirs. Nor can the foot 
Of disembodied spirit, nor angel wing, 
Transgress the deep inexorable gulf 650 

Betwixt the worlds of darkness and of light.' 



HI.] THE PRISON 01 THE LOST. 99 

" Still gazed he on, and gazing still replied, 
■ There is no hope for me ; but art not thou 
Returning to thy ministry on earth ? 
Would it were not so ! would that thou couldst stay 
For ever here, whose light ethereal form 
And heavenly essence suffer no eclipse 
From hell's dark murky atmosphere ! At first 
Sorely I fear'd thy dreadful touch of power, 
Before I knew thee good ; but now I see 600 

That in the hands of goodness power is love, 
And crave thy longer presence. That is vain : 
I know that thou must leave me. Thou canst do 
No more for me. But is there not a hope 
For one I briefly passionately loved — 
Irene ? surely she is mine, for whom, 
Fool, fool, I barter'd immortality. 
Angel, I would not she should perish too. 
Go to her straight, I pray thee. Lay thy hand 
Upon her, as on him who linger'd once 670 

When wrath o'ershadow'd Sodom. Force belief. 
Tell her, in mercy tell her, where I am — 
What suffering — what must suffer evermore 
It may be, she will turn and live. And if, 
Whene'er my mother's pilgrimage is pass'd, 
And she, entering the gates of bliss, shall search 
Through every field of yonder Paradise 
To find her only son, and search in vain, 
If then thou wilt but try and comfort her — 
What way I know not, but thou know'st — and should 
Her restless eye intuitively glance [680 



100 THE PRISON OF THE LOST. [BOOK 

Towards this valley, instantly divert 

Its gaze else whither, thou wilt have done all 

I ask for, and far more than I deserve.' 

" I answer'd, ' Theodore, thy widow'd spouse, 
Listening the story of the cross, has more 
Than angel importunity to urge 
Submission. Who resist the blood-stain'd cross 
Resist the uttermost that Heaven can do. 
Faith must be free, not forced. Nor deem that she 690 
Who bore thee, and who knows not yet thy doom, 
If counted worthy of the gates of bliss, 
Will need the ministry of angel hands 
To stanch her wounds, or wipe her tears away : 
Love, tenderer than the tenderest mother's, there 
Comforts the weary heart and weeping eye. 
Thy prayers to thy own bosom must return. 
And yet, unhappy spirit, the Eye, which lights 
Thy darkness with intolerable flame, 
Doth not consume in thee the secret spring 700 

Of pity whence those supplications flow'd. 
For pity is of God, a fragment left 
Even here of thy Divine original, 
Not wholly crush'd. Nor can there be in God 
Wrath against any Godlike lineament, 
Wherever found, or howsoever dimm'd. 
Not for thy pity art thou where thou art : 
Not for thy pity rests the wrath to come 
For ever on thy soul, but for thy sin 
Indulged, embraced, enjoy'd, till sin and thou 710 



m.] THE PRISON OF THE LOST. 101 

No longer separable things became 
Incorporate in one, one sinful life, 
One ever-living sinner. But the Day 
Is coming, which will all to all declare. 
And now, my mission done, my time elapsed, 
I leave thee in thy Just Creator's hands.' 

" So saying, through that lurid atmosphere 
I rose, and through the flaming vault of hell, 
And through the iron portals pass'd, which oped 
And closed behind me of their own accord, 720 

And through that dark ravine of midnight gloom, 
And up that mighty highway of the heavens, 
And by the passing stars and brightening sun ; 
Nor stay'd upon the battle-field of earth, 
But upwards soaring with unwearied flight 
Swift as the lightning toward the heaven of heavens 
I bent my eager course, nor paused until 
Kneeling before the everlasting throne, 
And gazing on the emerald arch of love, 
I soothed my bosom's agitated depths 730 

In the calm presence of the light of God." 

Then Oriel's voice was hush'd ; and for a space 
He seem'd as one communing with himself, 
And nurturing his strength with memories 
Of things that lived for ever in his soul, 
The record of his ministry approved, 
The beatific smile, the gracious words 
Of benediction, and the choral songs 



102 THE PRISON OF THE LOST. [BOOK 

Of ihose who magnified his God in him: 

But soon, mindful of my solicitude, 740 

His awful story he resumed once more. 

" Not then return'd I straight to earth j for then 
Throughout the lower provinces of heaven 
Was warfare. Michael and his angels fought, 
Satan and his : no visionary strife ; 
But battle such as earth has never seen, 
Seraph with seraph warring. And my lot 
Was with Messiah's armies militant 
To drive the rebel hosts from those fair realms 
Their presence had too long defiled. Of this 750 

I will relate hereafter. But, expell'd 
From heaven, our foes and thine with doubled rage 
Possess'd the lower firmament of earth. 
And from that hour for fifteen centuries, 
Not seldom with a band of spirits elect 
Encamping, but more oft alone with God, 
My charge was ministering to heirs of life. 
Blest heirs, twice blessed minister! Nor came 
My summons the third time to tread the shores 
Of darkness, till the decade which forewent 760 

My latest guardianship of saints — thyself. 

" Already had the seven last angels, seen 
By John in Patmos, from heaven's sanctuary 
Come forth array'd in priestly robes of white, 
Girdled with gold, and bearing in their hands 
The mystic vials of the wrath of God. 



HI.] THE PRISON OF THE LOST. 108 

Already had they pour'd those censers forth 

Upon the earth, the sea, the river springs, 

The sun's orb, and the great usurper's throne. 

Two only' of seven remain'd. It was the year 770 

When the last throes of laboring France were still'd, 

And her proud despot, he for whom the world 

Once seem'd too insignificant a throne, 

Was banish'd to his narrow sea-girt isle 

To chafe against the idle winds and waves ; 

Then first I heard a chosen embassy 

Of the angelic sanctities and powers 

(Myself the twelfth) was order'd to descend 

And traverse hell in all its length and breadth, 

Announcing to the prisoners of wrath 780 

The nearer advent of the day of doom. 

Immediately, for angels never pause 

To ask the wherefore of Divine behests, 

Nor question their own aptitude whom God 

Has summon'd as His aptest messengers, 

We, on the wings of morning light, obey'd 

And went. Swiftly, harmoniously we flew, 

And each the other cheer'd with sweet converse 

Of the Lamb's Bridal now at hand ; but soon, 

At hell's inexorable gates arrived, 790 

Our several and predestined pathways took 

Through diverse fields of gloom and fiery woe, 

Ordaining, when our dark sojourn was o'er, 

To meet at last in that profoundest depth 

Where rebel angels are immured in walls 

Of darkness nearest to Gehenna's lake. 



104 THE PRISON OF THE LOST. [BOOK 

" First to that mountain valley, where I left 
Lost Theodore, I bent my course. O God ! 
The solemn change which fifteen centuries 
In hell had written on his fearful brow. 800 

Unchanged in form, unchanged in hopelessness, 
The same immortal heir of endless wrath, 
But now the restlessness of agony, 
The writhing of the miserable spirit 
Under the first experience of despair, 
Was scarcely visible. Subdued he sate 
Apart, crush'd, conscience-stricken, almost calm ; 
Oft gazing on that distant Paradise, 
Which still appear'd within his vision's ken 
And cast its reflex light upon his ruin, 810 

But waken'd now no hope. He mark'd my flight ; 
He heard my footstep in the vale ; he rose 
In reverence : and, when he knew me, spake 
In accents so chastised, they touch'd me more 
Than loudest wailings or incessant tears 

" ' O holy angel, is it thou ? What brings 
Thee to this dreadful prison-house again ? 
I had not thought to see thee till I stood 
Before the judgment-throne. But I have learn'd 
Much since I saw thee last. My little span 820 

Of mortal life, inured and stereotyped, 
Is branded on the tablet of my soul 
Each year, each month, each week, each day, each hour. 
As drowning men have lived their bygone life 
Again in one brief minute, so to me, 



III.] THE PRISON OF THE LOST. 105 

Each minute of these ages without end, 

My past is always present. Now I see 

Myself. 'Twas not apostasy alone 

Damn'd me : this seal'd my ruin : but my life 

Was one rebellion, one ingratitude. 830 

God would, but could not save me 'gainst my will, 

Moved, drawn, besought, persuaded, striven with, 

But yet inviolate, or else no will, 

And I no man — for man by birth is free. 

Angel, He would, I would not. Further space 

Would but have loaded me with deeper guilt. 

Yea, now I fear that if the Eye of flame 

Which rests upon me everlastingly 

Soflen'd its terrors, sin would yet revive 

In me and bear again disastrous fruit, 840 

And this entail more torturing remorse. 

Better enforced subjection. I have ceased 

Or almost ceased to struggle' against the Hand 

That made me. For I madly chose to die : 

I sold my immortality for death : 

And death, eternal distance from His love, 

Eternal nearness to His righteous wrath, 

Death now is my immortal recompense. 

T know it, I confess it, I submit. 

But oh ! the boding dread that I ere long 850 

Must re-assume the flesh in which I sinn'd, 

And naked stand before the judgment-throne/ 

" He ceased, and I replied : * My mission is 
To tell thee that, the time is short 



106 THE PRISON OF THE LOST. [BOOK 

Before the dawning of that day of God, 

Its Advent sunrise, its millennial sphere, 

Its evening-tide of heaven and earth's assize. 

I may not linger ; for my journey tends 

Throughout these desolate confines of woe 

To hell's remotest verge ; but first to thee 860 

(Thee only of the lost, my ward) I come 

Permitted to advise thee this. If here 

The Uncreated Light, part seen, part veil'd, 

Hath wrung this last confession from thy lips 

That thy subordination, though compell'd, 

Is better in its everlasting chains 

Than dissolute freedom and unbridled guilt, 

Will not its veilless and meridian blaze 

(However terrible the fire that burns 

The ineradicable germs of sin 870 

For ever and for ever in thy soul, 

Repressing their fertility with flame) 

Be good, not evil ? yea, the highest good 

Thy guilt has render'd possible ? It will : 

For God Himself has sworn that every knee, 

Not only of the things in heaven and earth 

But of the regions under earth in hell, 

Shall bow beneath the sceptre of His Son, 

And, willing or constraint, confess Him Lord.' 

" Nor paused I for an answer, but pursued 880 

My way along that valley of the dead, 
Only one valley of a myriad like, 
But yet so vast, that, though its habitants 



in.] THE PRISON OF THE LOST. 107 

Were more than many a throng'd metropolis, 

Scatter'd throughout its solitudes they seem'd, 

Where'er I trod, but few and far betwixt 

And seldom group'd in converse. Every one 

Had his own chastisement to bear ; on each 

And every one the Eye of God was fix'd; 

On every one the Hand of God was press'd. 890 

And for the most part silence reign'd : few sighs 

Were heard, or groans, or mutterings of remorse, 

And chiefly these among the last arrived, 

Who, when they knew themselves for ever lost, 

Wept and bewail'd their ruin, till, their tears 

And bitter outcries bringing no relief, 

They, like their fellows, sank upon the ground, 

Or wander'd to and fro in mute despair. 

Most, peradventure, chose to be alone 

From that sheer misery, which could not brook 900 

Another convict's eye to read their woe. 

But yet it was not always thus : at times 

They met, and fearfully exchanged their pangs 

And drear forebodings, which, from words I caught, 

Centred on judgment and eternity. 

" Lost souls of every type were there : and yet 
The hell of one was not another's hell. 
Nor needed separate prisons to adjust 
The righteous meed of punishment to each. 
As they had sinn'd, they suffer'd; for the flame 910 

Of perfect righteousness abode on them, 
God's righteousness on their unrighteousness. 



108 THE PRISON OF THE LOST. [BOOK 

Distinct, discriminate, distributive, 

More tolerant of guilty ignorance 

Than of intolerable guilty pride, 

Restraining that which chafed against restraint. 

Abhorring most the most abhorrent deeds, 

Lighter on some, on others more intense ; 

Severest on the guiltiest, but to all 

An earnest of the final lake of fire. U'20 

" Some I beheld, who from the gayest haunts 
Of fashion's revelries and pageantries 
Were summon'd by the icy hand of death, 
Blithe men, fair women, and, most piteous sight, 
Children in years but not in wickedness : 
And some, who fell asleep in sinks of vice, 
Amid the orgies of their drunkenness 
Breathing out curses in a harlot's ear, 
And waken'd, unawares, amazed, to find 
Damnation, oft invoked, at last their own. 930 

" I pass'd where two were standing side by side, 
A princess, who had floated on through life 
Wrapt in the perfumed incense-cloud of praise, 
And a poor beggar's fallen child. They both 
Had lived the living death of godless mirth ; 
Though variously in marble palaces 
And wretched hovels matter'd little here : 
One hour had made them comrades ; one despair 
Was written on their face ; one sympathy 
Drew them together ; while in speechless woe 940 

Each wrung convulsively her sister's hand. 



HI.] THE PRISON OF THE LOST. 109 

" But heavier far their chastisement who drew 
Their fellows to perdition from their greed 
Of mammon, or from fleshly appetite. 
En them the horrible antagonism 
Betwixt the pure of God and their impure, — 
I lis good, their ill, — His ruth, their cruelty, — 
His heavenly love, and their most hellish lust, — 
Bred an insufferable anguish words 
May never picture, nor the heart of saint 950 

Or any saintly' intelligence conceive. 

"And there were hypocrites unmask'd and stripp'd ; 
And haughty Pharisaic dignities 
Low in the dust ; and liars taught too late 
To utter agonizing words of truth ; 
And gamblers, who had staked their soul and lost 
And perjurers compell'd at last to dread 
God's oath ; manslayers, convict or escaped, 
Confessing Hades had no shade secure 
From blood's avenging cry ; and not a few 960 

Diviners, necromancers, sorcerers, 
Who once sought lawless commerce with the dead, 
Now number'd with the damned dead themselves ; 
And learned infidels, who proved a God 
At least among improbabilities, 
Aghast for ever underneath His frown. 

" All these, and many more in that vast glen, 
As I pursued my embassage, I saw, 
And could narrate their names ; but better far 



110 „ THE PRISON OF THE LOST. |_BOOK 

Buried in silence and oblivion's grave 970 

Until the day of doom. They heard my voice ; 

And countless as they were, so manifold 

The tokens of their anguish or dismay, 

When I proclaimed the nearer dawn at hand : 

Tears, tremblings, pallor which became more pale, 

Moans, or more terrible than moans, the gaze 

Of agony suppress'd, heart-rending sighs, 

Or wailings of remorseless memory, 

Or darker lourings of malign despite 

Crush'd in a moment by the penal fire, 980 

But each in his own way betokening 

His terror of the unknown wrath to come. 

" They miss the truth who meditate that death, 
Or that which follows after death, can change 
The native idealities of men. 
These in the saved and lost alike remain 
Immutable for ever. There is nought 
In the unloosing of the mortal tent 
To alter or transform immortal minds. 
The gentle still are gentle, and the strong 990 

Are ever strong. Innumerable traits 
Each from the rest distinguish. It is true 
There lies a gulf impassable betwixt 
Salvation and perdition, heaven and hell ; 
But oh ! the almost infinite degrees 
Betwixt the lost and lost. 

u All this I saw 



in.] THE PRISON OF THE LOST. Ill 

In that one desolate valley of the dead, 

And then to other hills and rocks and plains 

Of that dark world I pass'd. Nor boots it now 

That I to thee, unwilling both, relate 1000 

The progress of my terrible sojourn 

In those drear regions. God was with me there, 

Or my celestial pinions would have droop'd 

Unequal by my side. But in His strength 

I traversed all the provinces assign'd 

To my celestial mission, nor surceased 

My flight till every habitant therein 

Heard from my lips (and none who heard gainsay'd) 

Messiah's nearer Advent, and that soon 

They might expect to see the Arch-fiend led 1010 

In chains to his millennial prison-house, 

A presage of his everlasting doom. 

" Vast were the realms I trod, and to my eye 
No bound apparent : but from clime to clime 
Not many hours, as men count hours, elapsed 
Without some-ruin'd soul arriving thither 
And swelling the dark aggregate of woe. 
And then perchance there was a transient pause* 
A momentary break : but soon the rest, 
Their own cup full of misery, sank back 1020 

In personal despair. It was but once, 
And then for a brief space, I saw the dead 
Stirr'd with profounder feeling. I was there, 
What time a mighty conqueror came down 
To limitless captivity. He came. 



112 THE PRISON OF THE LOST. [BOOK 

Aforetime wont to lead his armies forth, 

The god of pride, incarnate selfishness, 

The nations trembling at his iron rod, 

And tributary mouarchs in his suite, 

Now guided only by a stripling cherub, 1030 

Yet in whose hand that vanquish'd victor's might 

Were less than nothing. For a little while 

His fall was theme of converse with the dead, 

But soon the voices sank ; and hell resumed 

Its dread monotony of crushing calm. 

" Terrestrial years pass'd by, as thus I trod 
These regions, but my Captain's charge fulfill'd, 
I came at last to that profound abyss 
Wrapt in a tenfold gloom of darkening wrath, 
Nearest Gehenna's lake, which first I saw 1040 

When with a band of seraphim in arms, 
I bore the captive angels, Samchasai 
And Uziel, fallen potentates of heaven, 
In chains, themselves and their rebellious hosts, 
To their eternal banishment. Since then 
Four great millennial days had come and gone, 
But there they lay immured in darkness, link'd 
With adamantine manacles to rocks 
Of adamant : and with them other spirits 
Who, having fill'd their cup of wickedness 105O 

Before the time, before the time were hurl'd 
To this dark dungeon. Such were those who sought 
With suicidal prayer, Legion their name, 
Driven from the human heart, their chosen seat. 



ni.J THE PRISON OP THE LOST. 113 

To herd with swine ; and, their demand vouchsafed, 

Rush'd headlong, they and all their bestial throng — 

These into ocean depths and those to hell. 

Nor were they solitary in their doom : 

For think not He whose vengeance flashes forth 

Upon the sons of men, and unawares 1000 

Strikes down the sinner in his hour of pride, — 

Think not He leaves the fallen hosts unwarn'd 

By dread ensamples of His wrath, though such 

No warning moves and no ensample' avails 

To turn from final death. Yet once they stood 

Pure spirits before the sapphire throne in heaven. 

And many I knew in that their first estate, 

And with them I had walk'd the golden streets, 

And pluck'd the vintage of celestial grapes, 

And tuned my harp in unison with theirs. 1070 

But now, behold them — every lineament 

Dimm'd with despair and utter agony. 

For, as their guilt was deeper, fiercer wrath 

Alone their unrepentant nature curb'd 

From words and deeds of devilish violence. 

That wrath was there. And of despite was heard 

No whisper, nor a thought of open war 

Express'd, nor breathed a breath of blasphemy. 

" But them already advertised I found 
By heaven's angelic principalities 1080 

Of our great errand. So, our mission o'er, 
Back from that bottomless abyss we turn'd, 
And through hell's desolate champaigns arose, 
8 



114 THE PRISON OF THE LOST. [BOOK m. 

Its iron portals, and its dark access ; 

And when, with footsteps nothing loath, we trod 

The confines of most blessed light again, 

Our Captain, as Melchisedec of old 

Met Abraham with mystic bread and wine, 

Himself came forth to meet us bearing fruit 

Himself had pluck'd from heaven's ambrosial trees, J 090 

And with His benediction wrote on all 

The large experience of those years of gloom 

The rainbow of His clear approving smile." 

So Oriel spake, and ceased : and as he ceased 
I felt his tears were falling on my hand. 



END OF THE THIRD BOOK. 




Book jfaurtjj. 

THE CREATION OF ANGELS AND OP MEN. 

O tears, ye rivulets that flow profuse 

Forth from the fountains of perennial love, 

Love, sympathy, and sorrow, those pure springs 

Welling in secret up from lower depths 

Than couch beneath the everlasting hills : 

Ye showers that from the cloud of mercy fall 

In drops of tender grief, — you I invoke, 

For in your gentleness there lies a spell 

Mightier than arms or bolted chains of iron. 

When floating by the reedy banks of Nile 1G 

A babe of more than human beauty wept, 

Were not the innocent dews upon its cheeks 

A link in God's great counsels ? Who knows not 

The loves of David and young Jonathan, 

When in unwitting rivalry of hearts 

The son of Jesse won a nobler wreath 

Than garlands pluck'd in war and dipp'd in blood ? 



116 THE CREATION OF ANGELS [BOOK 

And haply she, who wash'd her Saviour's feet 

With the soft silent rain of penitence, 

And wiped them with her tangled tresses, gave 20 

A costlier sacrifice than Solomon, 

What time he slew myriads of sheep and kine, 

And pour'd upon the brazen altar forth 

Rivers of fragrant oil. In Peter's woe, 

Bitterly weeping in the darken'd street, 

Love veils his fall. The traitor shed no tear. 

But Magdalene's gushing grief is fresh 

In memory of us all, as when it drench'd 

The cold stone of the sepulchre. Paul wept, 

And by the droppings of his heart subdued 30 

Strong men by all his massive arguments 

Unvanquish'd. And the loved Evangelist 

Wept, though in heaven, that none in heaven were found 

Worthy to loose the Apocalyptic seals. 

No holy tear is lost. None idly sinks 

As water in the barren sand : for God, 

Let David witness, puts his children's tears 

Into His cruse and writes them in His book ; — 

David, that sweetest lyrist, not the less 

Sweet that his plaintive pleading tones ofttimes 40 

Are tremulous with grief. For he and all 

God's nightingales have ever learn'd to sing, 

Pressing their bosom on some secret thorn. 

In the world's morning it was thus : and, since 

The evening shadows fell athwart mankind, 

Thus hath it always been. Blind and bereft, 

The minstrel of an Eden lost explored 



IV.] AND OF MEN. 117 

Things all invisible to mortal eyes. 

And he, who touch'd with a true poet's hand 

The harp of prophecy, himself had learn'd 50 

Its music in the school of mourners. But 

Beyond all other sorrow stands enshrined 

The imperishable record — Jesus wept. 

He wept beside the grave of Lazarus ; 

He wept lamenting lost Jerusalem ; 

He wept with agonizing groans beneath 

The olives of Gethsemane. O tears, 

For ever sacred, since in human grief 

The Man of sorrows mingled healing drops 

With the great ocean tides of human woe ; 60 

You I invoke to modulate my words 

And chasten my ambition, while I search, 

And by your aid with no unmoisten'd eye, 

The early archives of the birth of time. 

Yes, there are tears in heaven. Love ever breathes 
Compassion; and compassion without tears 
Would lack its truest utterance : saints weep 
And angels : only there no bitterness 
Troubles the crystal spring. And when I felt, 
More solaced than surprised, my guardian's tears 70 
Falling upon my hand, my bosom yearn'd 
Towards him with a nearer brotherhood ; 
And, terrible as seem'd his beauty once, 
His terrors were less mighty than his tears. 
His heart was as my heart. He was in grief. 
No foicmod sorrow. And instinctively — 



118 THE CREATION OF ANGELS [liOOK 

Love's instinct to console the one beloved — 

I ansvver'd, " Oriel, let it grieve thee not 

Thus to have told me of thy dark sojourn 

In yonder world of death. I thought before 80 

Of thee as dwelling ever in the light, 

And knowing only joy ; but now I see 

We both have suffer'd ; sinless thou, and I 

Ransom'd from sin ; for others only thou, 

I for myself and others ; — but yet links 

Betwixt us of a tender sympathy 

Eternity will rivet, not unloose. 

And now, albeit, had I nursed a hope 

For those unhappy prisoners of wrath, 

Thy words had quench'd the latest spark, yet thou, 90 

While quenching hope, hast hopelessness illumed. 

Far visions throng my eye and fill my soul 

Of evil overcome by final good, 

And death itself absorb'd in victory. 

But first I long to listen from thy lips 

The story of creation's birth, whene'er 

In the unclouded morning-tide of heaven 

Thou and thy holy peers beheld the light." 

And Oriel took my hand in his once Jiore, 
And from the summit of that cliff we turn'd, 100 

And, with the ease of spirits, descending sought 
A lower platform, whence the mighty gulf 
Betwixt that shadowy land of death and ours 
Was hidden, but afar pre-eminent 
Over the realms of Paradise. But soon 



IV.] AND OF MEN. lli> 

A train of silvern mists and airy clouds, 

Only less limpid than the light itself, 

Began to creep from every vale, where late 

Invisible they couch'd by fount and rill, 

Around us o'er the nearer hills, and hung 1 10 

Their lucid veils across the crystal sky, 

Not always, but by turns drawn and withdrawn 

In grateful interchange, so that awhile 

Rocks, mountains, valleys, woods, and glittering lakes, 

And those uncounted distances of blue 

Were mantled with their flowing draperies, 

And then awhile in radiant outline lay ; — • 

Haply less lovely when unclothed than clothed 

With those transparent half-transparent robes, 

But loveliest in alternate sheen and shade. 120 

I knew the token and was still : and there 

Upon a ledge of rock recline, we gazed 

Our fill of more than Eden's freshness, when 

The mists of God water'd the virgin earth, 

And gazing drank the music of its calm, 

Silent ourselves for gladness. But at last, 

As if recalling his far-travell'd thoughts, 

Not without deeper mellowness of tone, 

Oriel resumed his narrative and spake : 

" Yes, saidst thou truly, in the world of spirits, 1SU 
As in the early Paradise of man, 
Creation had its morning without clouds ; 
When first the bare illimitable void 
Throughout its everlasting silences 



120 THE CREATION OF ANGELS [BOOK 

Heard whispers of God's voice and trembled. Then, 

Passing from measureless eternity, 

In which the Highest dwelt Triune Alone, 

To measurable ages, Time began. 

And then, emerging out of nothingness, 

At God's behest commanding Let them be, 140 

The rude raw elements of nature were : 

Viewless and without form at first. But soon 

God will'd, and breathed His will ; and lo, a sea 

Of subtle and elastic ether flow'd, 

Immense, imponderable, luminous, 

Which, while revealing other things, remains 

Itself invisible, impalpable, 

Pervading space. Thus Uncreated Light 

Created in the twinkling of an eye 

A tabernacle worthy of Himself, 150 

And saw that it was good, and dwelt therein. 

Then, moulded by the Word's almighty hand, 

And by the Spirit of life inform'd, the heaven 

With all its orbits and the heaven of heavens 

Rose like a vision. There the throne supreme, 

Refulgent as if built of solid light, 

Where He, whom all the heavens cannot contain, 

Reveals His glory' incomprehensible, 

Was set upon the awful mount of God, 

The Heavenly Zion : over it above 160 

The empyrean of the universe ; 

And near it, or beneath it as it seem'd, 

That mystic chariot, paved with love, instinct 

Thereafter with the holy cherubim ; 



IY.J AND OF MEN. 121 

And round about it four and twenty thrones, 

Vacant as yet — not long. God, who is Spirit, 

Bade spirits exist, and they existed. Forms 

Of light, in infinite varieties, 

Though all partaking of that human type 

Which afterward the Son of God assumed 170 

(Angelical and numan forms, thou seest, 

Are not so far diverse as mortals think), 

Awoke in legions arm'd, or one by one 

Successively appear'd. Succession there, 

In numbers passing thy arithmetic, 

Might be more rapid than my words, and yet 

Exhaust the flight of ages. There is space 

For ages in the boundless past. But each 

Came from the hand of God distinct, the fruit 

Of His eternal counsels, the design 180 

Of His omniscient love, His workmanship ; 

Each seraph, no angelic parentage 

Betwixt him and the Great Artificer, 

Born of the Spirit, and by the Word create. 

" Of these were three the foremost, Lucifer, 
Michael, and Gabriel : Lucifer, the first, 
Conspicuous as the star of morning shone, 
And held his lordly primacy supreme ; 
Though scarcely' inferior seem'd Michael the prince, 
Or Gabriel, God's swift winged messenger. 193 

And after these were holy Raphael ; 
Uriel, the son of light ; Barakiel, 
Impersonation of beatitude ; 



122 THE CREATION OF ANGELS [BOOK 

Great Ramiel, and Raamiel, mercy's child ; 

Dumah, and Lailah, and Yorekemo, 

And Suriel, blessed Suriel, who abides 

Mostly beside the footstool of God's throne, 

(As Mary sate one time at Jesus' feet,) 

His chosen inalienable heritage. 

Nor these alone, but myriad sanctities, 200 

Thrones, virtues, principalities, and powers, 

Over whose names and high estates of bliss 

I must not linger now, crown'd hierarchs ; 

And numbers without number under them 

In order ranged, — some girt with flaming swords. 

And others bearing golden harps, though all 

Heaven's choristers are militant at will, 

And all its martial ranks are priestly choirs. 

And, even as in yonder Paradise 

Thou sawest the multitudes of ransom'd babes 210 

And children gather'd home of tenderest years, 

So with the presbytery of angels, those 

Who will appear to thee as infant spirits 

Or stripling cherubs, cluster round our steps, 

Each individual cherub born of God, 

Clouds of innumerable drops composed, 

Pure emanations of delight and love. 

" And yet, though only one of presbyters 
There reckon'd by ten thousands, when I woke 
To consciousness I found myself alone, 22(; 

So vast are heaven's felicitous abodes, 
As Adam found in Eden. Not a sound 



IV.] AND OF MEN. 123 

Greeted mine ear, except the tuneful flow 

Of waters rippling past a tree of life, 

Beneath whose shade on fragrant moss and flowers 

Dreaming I lay. Realities and dreams 

Were then confused as yonder clouds and rocks, 

But soon my Maker, the Eternal Word, 

Softening His glory, came to me, in form 

Not wholly' unlike my own : for He, who walk'd 23« 

A man on earth among His fellow-men, 

Is wont, self-humbled, to reveal Himself 

An Angel among angels. And He said, — 

His words are vivid in my heart this hour 

As from His sacred lips at first they fell, — 

* Child of the light, let Oriel be thy name , 

Whom I have made an image of Myself, 

That in the age of ages I may shower 

My love upon thee, and from thee receive 

Responsive love. I, unto whom thou owest 240 

Thy being, thy beauty, and immortal bliss, 

I claim thy free spontaneous fealty. 

Such it is thine to render or refuse. 

It may be in the veil'd futurity, 

Veil'd for thy good, another voice than Mine, 

Though Mine resembling, will solicit thee, 

When least suspicious of aught ill, to seek 

Apart from Me thy bliss. Then let these words 

Foreclose the path of danger. Then beware. 

Obedience is thy very life, and death 250 

Of disobedience the supreme award. 

Forewarn'd, fcrearm'd resist Obey and live. 



124 THE CREATION OF ANGELS [BOOK 

But only in My love abide, and heaven 

(So call the beautiful world around thee spread) 

Shall be thy home for ever, and shall yield 

Thee choicest fruits of immortality ; 

And thou shalt drink of every spring of joy, 

And with the lapse of endless ages grow 

In knowledge of My Father and Myself, 

Ever more loving, ever more beloved/ 260 

" Speaking, He gazed on me, and gazing seal'd 
Me with the impress of His countenance, 
(Brother, I read the same upon thy brow,) 
Until such close affinity of being 
Enchain'd me, that the beauty' of holiness 
Appear'd unutterably necessary, 
And by its very nature part of me. 
I loved Him for His love ; and from that hour 
My life began to circle round His life, 
As planets round the sun, — His will my law, 270 

His mysteries of counsel my research, 
And His approving smile my rich reward. 

"Then whispering, * Follow Me,' He led me forth 
By paths celestial through celestial scenes 
(Of which the Paradise beneath our feet, 
Though but the outer precincts of His courts, 
Is pledge), each prospect lovelier than the last. 
Until before my raptured eye there rose 
The Heavenly Zion. 



IV.] AND OF MEN. 125 

"Terribly sublime 
It rose. The mountains at its base, albeit 280 

Loftier than lonely Ararat, appear'd 
But footsteps to a monarch's throne. The top 
Was often lost in clouds — clouds all impregnM 
With light and girdled with a rainbow arch 
Of opal and of emerald. For there, 
Not as on Sinai with thick flashing flames, 
But veiling His essential majesty 
In robes of glory woven by Himself, 
He dwells whose dwelling is the universe 
Of all things, and whose full-orb'd countenance 290 

The Son alone sustains. But at His will 
(So was it now) the clouds withdrawn disclosed 
That portion of His glory, which might best 
Fill all His saints with joy past utterance. 
There were the cherubim instinct with eyes ; 
And there the crowned elders on their thrones, 
Encircling with a belt of starry light 
The everlasting throne of God ; and round, 
Wave after wave, myriads of flaming ones 
From mightiest potentates and mid degrees 300 

Unto the least of the angelic choirs. 
Myself, nor of the first nor of the last 
I saw ; but mingling with them was received 
By some with tender condescending love, 
By others with the grateful homage due 
To their superior. Envy was unknown 
In that society. But through their ranks 
Delightful and delighting whispers ran. 



126 THE CREATION OF ANGELS [BOOK 

Another brother is arrived to share 
And multiply our gladness without end.* 310 

Meanwhile, as I was answering love with love, 
My Guide was not, and in that countless throng 
I felt alone, till clustering round my steps, 
With loud Hosannas and exuberant joy, 
They led me to the footstool of the throne, 
And there upon His Father's right He sate, 
Without whom heaven had been no heaven to me, 
Effulgent Image of the Invisible, 
Co-equal co-eternal God of God. 

" That day was one of thousands not unlike 320 

Of holy convocation, when the saints 
(This was our earliest name, God's holy ones) 
From diverse fields of service far and near, 
What time the archangel's trumpet rang through heaven, 
Flock'd to the height of Zion — archetypes 
Of Salem's festivals in after years. 
And ever, as these high assemblies met, 
New counsels were disclosed of love Divine, 
New revelations of our Father's face, 
New proofs of His creative handiwork, 330 

Presentments at the throne of new-born spirits, 
Wakening new raptures and new praise in us 
The elder born. No discord then in heaven. 

" So pass'd continuous ages ; till at last, 
The cycles of millennial days complete, 
Mark'd by sidereal orbits, seven times seven, 



IV.] AND OF MEN. 127 

By circuits inexpressible to man 

Revolving, a Sabbatic jubilee 

Dawn'd on creation. Usher'd in with songs 

And blowing of melodious trumps, and voice 840 

Of countless harpers harping on their harps, 

That morning, long foretold in prophecy 

(Heaven has, as earth, its scrolls prophetic, sketch'd 

In word or symbol by the Prescient Spirit), 

Broke in unclouded glory. Hitherto 

No evil had appear'd to cast its shade 

Over the splendors of perpetual light, 

Nor then appear'd, though to the Omniscient Eye, 

Which only reads the mysteries of thought 

And can detect the blossom in the bulb, 350 

All was not pure which pure and perfect seem'd. 

But we presaged no tempest. We had lived, 

Save for the warning each at birth received, 

As children live in blissful ignorance 

Of future griefs : nor even Michael guess'd, 

So hath he often told me, what that day 

Disclosed of war and final victory. 

" Such was the childhood of angelic life. 
Such might not, could not always be. And when, 
Ranged in innumerable phalanxes, 300 

We stood or knelt around the sapphire throne, 
ITie Word, the Angel of God's Presence, rose 
From the right hand of glory, where He sate 
Enslirined, imbosom'd in the light of light, 
And gazing round with majesty Divine, — 



128 THE CREATION OF ANGELS [BOOK 

Complacent rest hi us His finish'd work, 
His perfected creation, not unmix'd 
With irrepressible concern of love, — 
Thus spake in accents audible to all : 

" i Children of light, My children, whom My hand 
Hath made, and into whom My quickening Spirit [370 
Hath breathed an immortality of life, 
My Father's pleasure is fulfiU'd, nor now 
Of His predestinated hosts remains 
One seraph uncreated. It is done. 
Thrones, virtues, principalities, and powers, 
Not equal, but dependent each on each, 
O'er thousands and ten thousands president 
No link is wanting in the golden chain. 
None lacks his fellow, none his bosom friends, 38(1 

No bosom friends their fit society, 
And no society its sphere assign'd 
In the great firmament of morning stars. 
The brotherhood of angels is complete. 
And now, My labor finish'd, I declare 
Jehovah's irreversible decree, 
With whom from Our eternal Yesterday, 
Before creation's subtlest film appear'd, 
I dwelt in light immutably the same, 
Which saith to Me, " Thou art My Only Son, 390 

From all eternity alone Beloved, 
Alone begotten : Thee I now ordain 
Lord of To-day, the great To-day of Time, 
And Heir of all things in the world to come. 



IV.] AND OF MEN. 129 

Who serve the Son, they too the Father serve ; 

And Thee, My Son, contemning. Me contemn. 

My majesty is Thine : Thy word is Mine. 

And now, in pledge of this My sovereign will, 

Before- heaven's peers on this high jubilee 

I pour upon Thee without measure forth 400 

The unction of My Everlasting Spirit, 

And crown Thee with the crown of endless joy." ' 

" So spake the Son ; and, as He spake, a cloud 
Of fragrance, such as heaven had never known, 
Rested upon His Head, and soon distill'd 
In odors inexpressibly sublimed 
Dewdrops of golden balm, which flow'd adown 
His garments to their lowest skirts, and fill'd 
The vast of heaven with new ambrosial life. 
And for a while, it seem'd a little while, 410 

But joy soon fails in measurement of time, 
We knelt before His footstool, none except, 
And from the fountain-head of blessing drank 
Beatitude past utterance. But then, 
Rising once more, the crown'd Messiah spake : 

" * My children, ye have heard the high decree 
Of Him, whose word is settled in the heavens, 
Irrevocable ; and your eyes have seen 
The symbol of His pleasure, that I rule 
Supreme for ever o'er His faithful hosts, 420 

Or faithless enemies, if such arise : 
And rise they will. Already I behold 
9 



130 THE CREATION OP ANGELS [BOOK 

The giant toils of pride enveloping 

The hearts of many : questionings of good, 

Not evil in themselves, but which, sustained 

And parley'd with apart from Me, will lead 

To evil ; thoughts of license not indulged, 

Nor yet recoil'd from ; and defect of power, 

Inseparable from your finite being, 

Soliciting so urgently your will 430 

(Free, therefore not infallible) to range 

Through other possibilities of things 

Than those large realms conceded to your ken, 

That if ye yield, and ye cannot but yield 

Without My mighty aid betimes implored, 

From their disastrous wedlock will be born 

That fertile monster, Sin. Oh, yet be wise ! 

My children, ere it be too late, be warn'd ! 

The pathway of obedience and of life 

[s one and narrow and of steep ascent, 440 

But leads to limitless felicity. 

Not so the tracks of disobedience stretch 

On all sides, open, downward, to the Deep 

Which underlies the kingdom of My love. 

Good, evil ; life and death : here is your choice. 

From this great trial of your fealty, 

This shadow of all limited free will, 

It is not Mine, albeit Omnipotent, 

To save you. Ye yourselves must choose to live. 

But only supplicate My ready aid, 450 

Amd My Good Spirit within you will repel 

Temptation from the threshold of your heart 



IV.] AND OP MEN. 131 

Unscathed, or if conversed with heretofore 
Will soon disperse the transitory film, 
And fortify your soul with new resolve/ 

" He spake, and from the ranks a seraph stepp'd, 
One of heaven's brightest sanctities esteem'd, 
Nought heeding underneath the eye of God 
Ten thousand times ten thousand eyes of those 
Who gazed in marvel, Penuel his name, 460 

And knelt before Messiah's feet. What pass'd 
We knew not : only this we knew ; then first 
Tears fell upon that floor of crystal gold — 
Not long — a smile of reconcilement chased 
Impending clouds, and that archangel's brow 
Shone with the calm response of perfect love. 

" Sole penitent he knelt, — if penitence 
Be the due name for evil, not in deed, 
But only in surmise. And for a space 
Unwonted silence reign'd in heaven, until 470 

The Son of God a third time rose and spake : 

u \ Angels, from conflict I have said no power 
Avails to save you : here Omnipotence, 
Which made and guards from force your freeborn will, 
And never can deny itself, seems weak, 
Seems only, — hidden in profounder depths. 
But rather than temptation were diffused 
Through boundless space and ages without end, 
I have defined and circumscribed the strife 



132 THE CREATION OF ANGELS [BOOK 

In narrowest limits both of place and time. 480 

Ye know the planet, by yourselves call'd Earth, 

Which in alternate tempest and repose 

Has rolFd for ages round its central sun, 

And often have ye wonder'd what might be 

My secret counsel as regards that globe, 

The scene of such perplex'd vicissitudes, 

In turn the birthplace and the tomb of life, 

Life slowly' unfolding from its lowest forms. 

Now wrapt in swathing-bands of thickest clouds 

Bred of volcanic fires, eruptions fierce 490 

And seething oceans, on its path it rolls 

In darkness, waiting for its lord and heir. 

Hear, then, My word : this is the destined field, 

Whereon both good and evil, self-impell'd, 

Shall manifest the utmost each can do 

To overwhelm its great antagonist. 

There will I shower the riches of My grace 

First to prevent, and, if prevention fail, 

To conquer sin — eternal victory. 

And there Mine enemies will wreak their worst : 500 

Their worst will prove unequal in that war 

To conquer My unconquerable love. 

But why, ye thrones and potentates of heaven, 

Say why should any amongst you, why should one 

Attempt the suicidal strife? What more 

Could have been done I have not done for you ? 

Have I not made you excellent in power, 

Swift as the winds and subtle as the light, 

Perfect and God-like in intelligence? 



IV.] AND OF MEN. 133 

What more is possible ? But one thing more, 510 

And I have kept back nothing I can do 

If yet I may anticipate your fall. 

Such glory have I pour'd upon your form 

And made you thus in likeness of Myself, 

That from your peerless excellence there springs 

Temptation, lest the distance infinite 

Betwixt the creature and the Increate 

Be hidden from your eyes. For who of spirits, 

First born or last, has seen his birth, or knows 

The secrets of his own nativity ? 520 

Nor were ye with Me, when My Father will'd, 

And at My word the heavens obedient rose. 

Come, then, with Me, your Maker, and behold 

The making of a world. Nor this alone : 

But I, working before your eyes, will take 

Of earth's material dust, and mould its clay 

Into My image, and imbreathe therein 

The breath of life, and by My Spirit Divine 

Implanting mind, choice, conscience, reason, love, 

Will form a being, who in power and light, 530 

May seem a little lower than yourselves 

(Yourselves whose very glory tempts to pride), 

But capable of loftiest destinies. 

This being shall be man. Made of the dust, 

And thus allied to all material worlds, 

Born of the Spirit, and thus allied to God, 

He during his probation's term shall walk 

His mother earth, unfledged to range the sky, 

But, if found faithful, shall at length ascend 



134 THE CREATION OF ANGELS j^BOOK 

The highest heavens and share My home and yours. 540 

Nor shall his race, like angels, be defined 

In numbers, but expansive without end 

Shall propagate itself by diverse sex, 

And in its countless generations form 

An image of Divine infinitude. 

As younger, ye their elder brethren stand : 

As feebler, ye their ministers. Nor deem 

That thus your glory shall be less, but more ; 

For glory' and love inseparably grow. 

Only, ye firstborn sons of heaven, be true, 550 

True to yourselves and true to Me, your Lord ; 

For as mankind must have a pledge proposed 

(And without pledge the trial were the same) 

Of their obedience, so mankind themselves 

Are pledge and proof of yours. Only be true ; 

And the pure crystal river of My love 

Widening shall flow with unimpeded course, 

And water the whole universe with life.' 

" So spake Messiah ; and His words awoke 
Deep searchings, Is it I? in countless hearts, 560 

Hearts pure from sin and strong in self-distrust : 
Nor holy fear alone, but strenuous prayer 
For strength and wisdom and effectual aid 
In the stern war foretold. And heaven that hour 
New worship and unparallel'd beheld, 
Self-humbled cherubim and seraphim, 
And prostrate principalities and thrones, 
And flaming legions, who on bended knees 



rV.] AND OF MEN. 135 

Besought their fealty might never fail, 

Never so great as when they lowliest seem'd. 570 

Would all had pray'd ! But prayer to some appear'd 

A sign of weakness unconceived : to some 

Confession of an unsuspected pride : 

And haply some rising ambition moved 

To strive against the Spirit who strove with all 

In mercy, forcing none, persuading most. 

Yes, most yielded submiss. And soon from prayer 

To solemn adoration we uprose, 

And all the firmament of Zion rang 

With new Hosannas unto Him who saw 580 

The gathering storm and warn'd us ere it broke. 

New thoughts of high and generous courage stirr'd 

In every loyal breast, and new resolves 

To do and suffer all things for our Lord. 

On which great themes conversing, friend with friend, 

Or solitary with the King Himself, 

That memorable Sabbath pass'd, a day, 

Though one day there is as a thousand years, 

Fraught with eternal destinies to all. 

u Now dawn'd another morning-tide in heaven, 59C 
The morning of another age, and lo, 
Forth from the height of Zion, where He sate 
Throned in His glory inaccessible, 
The Son of God, robed in a radiant cloud, 
And circled by His angel hosts, came down, 
Descending from that pure crystalline sphere 
Into the starry firmament. Not therj 



136 THE CREATION OF ANGELS |_BOOK 

For the first time or second I beheld 

Those marvels of His handiwork, those lamps 

Suspended in His temple's azure dome, 600 

And kindled by the Great High Priest Himself; 

For through them I had often wing'd my flight. 

But never saw I till that hour such blaze 

Of glory : whether now the liquid sky 

Did homage to its present Lord, or He 

Our eyes anointed with peculiar power : 

For to the farthest wall of heaven, where light 

Trends on the outer gloom, with ease we scann'd 

The maze of constellations : central suns 

Attended by their planets ministrant, 610 

These by their moons attended ; groups of worlds ; 

Garlands of stars, like sapphires loosely strung ; 

Festoons of golden orbs, nor golden all, 

Some pearls, and rubies some, some emerald green 

And others shedding hyacinthine light 

Far over the empurpled sky : but all 

Moving with such smooth harmony, though mute, 

Around some secret centre pendulous, 

That in their very silence music breathed, 

And in their motions none could choose but rest. 620 

" Through these with gently undulating course 
Messiah and His armies pass'd, until 
They reach'd the confines of thy native orb, 
The battle-field of Good and Evil, Earth. 

" Wrapt in impervious mist3, which ever steam'd 



IV.] AND OF MEN. 137 

Up from its boiling oceans, without form 

And void, it roll'd around the sun, which cast 

Strange lurid lights on the revolving mass, 

But pierced not to the solid globe beneath. 

Such vast eruption of internal fires 630 

Had mingled sea and land. This not the first 

Convulsion which that fatal orb had known, 

The while through immemorial ages God, 

In patience of His own eternity, 

Laid deep its firm foundations. When He spake 

In the beginning, and His word stood fast, 

An incandescent mass, molten and crude, 

Arose from the primordial elements, 

With gaseous vapors circumfused, and roll'd 

Along its fiery orbit : till in lapse 640 

Of time an ever thickening hardening crust 

(So have I heard) upon its lava waves 

Gather'd condense : a globe of granite rock, 

Bleak, barren, utterly devoid of life, 

Mantled on all sides with its swaddling-bands 

Of seas and clouds : impenetrably dark, 

Until the fiat of the Omnipotent 

Went forth. And, slowly dawning from the East, 

A cold gray twilight cast a pallid gleam 

Over those vaporous floods, and days and nights, 050 

All sunless days, all moonless starless nights, 

For ages journey'd towards the western heavens : — 

Unbroken circuits, till the central fires 

Brake forth anew, emitting sulphurous heat. 

And then at God's command a wide expanse 



138 THE CREATION OF ANGELS [BOOK 

Sever'd the waters of those shoreless floods 

From billowy clouds above ; — an upper sea 

Of waters o'er that limpid firmament 

Rolling for cycles undefined, the while 

God's leisure tarried. Then again He will'd, 660 

And lo, the bursting subterranean fires 

Thrust from below vast continents of land 

With deeper hollows yawning wide betwixt 

Capacious, into which the troubled tides 

Pour'd with impetuous rage, and fretting broke, 

Returning with their ceaseless ebb and flow, 

On many a sandy beach and shingly shore. 

But soon, wherever the dank atmosphere 

Kiss'd with its warm and sultry breath the soil, 

Innumerable ferns and mosses clothed 670 

The marshy plains, and endless forests waved, 

Pine-trees and palms on every rising slope, 

Gigantic reeds by every oozy stream, 

Rank and luxuriant under cloudy skies, 

Fed by the steaming vapors, race on race 

Fattening, as generations throve and sank. 

Their work was done ; and at the Almighty's word 

Earth shudder'd with convulsive throes again, 

And hid their gather'd riches in her folds 

For after use. But now a brighter light 680 

Flushes the East : the winds are all abroad : 

The cloud-drifts scud across the sky ; and lo, 

Emerging like a bridegroom from his couch, 

The lordly sun looks forth, and heaven and earth 

Rejoice before him : till his bashful queen, 



IV.J AND OF MEN. 139 

When the night shadows creep across the world, 

Half peering through a veil of silver mists, 

Discloses the pale beauty of her brow, 

Attended by a glittering retinue 

Of stars. Again long ages glided by, 690 

While Earth throughout her farthest climes imbibed 

The influences of heaven. 

" Not yet the end. 
For not for lifeless rocks, or pure expanse 
Of the pellucid firmament, or growth 
Of ferns or flowers or forests, or the smile 
Of sun or moon far shining through the heavens 
Was that fair globe created ; but for life, 
A destined nursery of life, the home, 
When death is vanquish'd, of immortal life. 
But there is no precipitance with God, 700 

Nor are His ways as ours. And living things, 
WTien His next mandate from on high was given, 
Inuumerous, but unintelligent, 
Swarm'd from the seas and lakes and torrent floods, 
Reptiles and lizards, and enormous birds 
Which firtit with oaring wing assay'd the sky : 
Vast tribes ehat for successive ages there 
Appcar'd and disappear'd. They had no king : 
And mute creation mourn'd its want ; until 
Destruction wrapt that world of vanity. 7J 

But from its wreck emerging, mammoth beasts 
Peopled the plains, and fill'd the lonely woods. 
But they too had no king, no lord, no head ; 



140 THE CREATION OF ANGELS [BOOH 

And Earth was not for them. So when their term 
In God's great counsels was fulfilPd, once more 
Earth to its centre shook, and what were seas 
Unsounded were of half their waters drain'd, 
And what were wildernesses ocean beds ; 
And mountain ranges, from beneath upheaved, 
Clave with their granite peaks primeval plains, 720 

And rose sublime into the water-floods, 
Floods overflow'd themselves with seas of mist, 
Which swathed in darkness all terrestrial things, 
Once more unfurnish'd, empty, void, and vast. 

" Such and so formless was thy native earth, 
Brother, what time our heavenly hosts arrived 
Upon its outmost firmament ; nor found 
A spot whereon angelic foot might rest, 
Though some with facile wing from pole to pole 730 
Swift as the lightning flew, and others traced 
From East to West the equidistant belt. 
Such universal chaos reign'd without ; 
Within, the embryo of a world. 

" For now 
Messiah, riding on the heavens serene, 
Sent forth His Omnipresent Spirit to brood 
Over the troubled deep, and spake aloud, 
i Let there be light ; ' and straightway at His Word, 
The work of ages into hours compress'd, 
Light pierced that canopy of surging clouds, 740 

And shot its penetrative influence through 



IV.] AND OF MEN. 141 

Their masses undispersed, until the waves 
Couching beneath them felt its vital power. 
And the Creator saw the light was good : 
Thus evening now and morning were one day. 

" The morrow came ; and without interlude 
Of labor, ' Let there be a firmament/ 
God said, ' amid the waters to divide 
The nether oceans from the upper seas 
Of watery mists and clouds.' And so it was. 750 

Immediate an elastic atmosphere 
Circled the globe, source inexhaustible 
Of vital breath for every thing that breathes : 
And even and morning were a second day. 

" But now again God spake, and said, ' Let all 
The waters under heaven assembling flow 
Together, and the solid land appear.' 
And it was so. And thus were types prepared 
For generations yet unborn of things 
Invisible : that airy firmament, 7WJ 

Symbolic of the heaven and heaven of heavens ; 
The earth a theatre, where life with death 
Should wage incessant warfare militant ; 
And those deep oceans, emblems of a depth 
Profounder still, — the under-world of spirits. 
But now before our eyes delighted broke 
A sudden verdure over hill and dale, 
Grasses and herbs and trees of every sort. 
Each leaflet by an Architect Divine 



142 THE CREATION OF ANGELS [BOOR 

Design'd and finish'd : proof, if proof be sought, 770 

Of goodness in all climes present at once, 

Untiring, unexhausted, infinite : 

Thus evening was and morning a third day. 

" And then again Messiah spoke, and lo, 
The clouds empurpled, flush'd, incarnadined, 
Melted in fairy wreaths before the sun, 
Who climbing the meridian steep of heaven, 
Shone with a monarch's glory, till he dipp'd 
His footstep in the ruddy western waves, 
And with the streaming of his golden hair 780 

Startled the twilight. But as evening drew 
Her placid veil o'er all things, the pale moon 
Right opposite ascending from the East, 
By troops of virgin stars accompanied, 
Arcturus and the sweet-voiced Pleiades, 
Lordly Orion, and great Mazzaroth, 
Footing with dainty step the milky way, 
Assumed her ebon throne, empress of night. 

" But now the fourth day closed. And at God's word 
The waters teem'd with life, with life the air ; 790 

Mostly new types of living things, though some 
From past creations, buried deep beneath 
Seas or the strata of incumbent soils, 
Borrow'd their form. Innumerable tribes 
Of fishes, from the huge Leviathan 
Roaming alone the solitary depths 
To myriad minnows in their sunny creeks, 



IV.] AND OF MEN. 143 

The ocean pathways swam. Nor less the birds, 

Some of entrancing plumage, some of notes 

More trancing still, awoke the sleeping woods 80u 

To gayety and music. Others perch'd 

Upon the beetling cliffs, or walk'd the shore, 

Or dived or floated on the waves at will, 

Or skimm'd with light wing o'er their dashing foam, 

Free of three elements, earth, water, air. 

And, as the fifth day to the sixth gave place, 

We gazed in eager expectation what 

Might crown our Great Creator's work. 

" But first 
All living creatures of the earth appear'd : 
Insects that crept or flew as liked them best, 810 

In hosts uncounted as the dews that hung 
Upon the herbs their food ; and white flocks browsed, 
Herds grazed, and generous horses paw'd the ground ; 
And fawns and leopards and young antelopes 
Gamboll'd together. Every moment seem'd 
Fruitful of some new marvel, new delight, 
Until at last the Great Artificer 
Paused in His mighty labors. Noon had pass'd, 
But many hours must yet elapse ere night : 
And thus had God, rehearsing in brief space 820 

His former acts of vast omnipotence, 
In less than six days ere we stood aloof 
From that tumultuous mass of moving gloom, 
Out of the wrecks of past creations built 
A world before our eyes. All was prepared : 



144 THE CREATION OF ANGELS [BOOK 

This glorious mansion only craved its heir, 
This shrine of God its worshipper and priest. 

" Nor long His purpose in suspense. For soon 
Descending from the firmamental heavens, 
Where He had wrought and whence His mandates 

given, 830 

Upon a mountain's summit which o'erlook'd 
The fairest and most fruitful scene on earth, 
Eden's delicious garden, in full view 
Of us His ministering hosts, He took 
Some handfuls of the dust and moulded it 
Within His plastic hands, until it grew 
Into an image like His own, like ours, 
Of perfect symmetry, divinely fair, 
But lifeless, till He stoop'd and breathed therein 
The breath of life, and by His Spirit infused 840 

A spirit endow'd with immortality. 
And we, viewless ourselves in air, saw then 
The first tryst of a creature with his God : 
We read his features when surprise and awe 
Pass'd into adoration, into trust ; 
And heard his first low whisperings of love, — 
Heard, and remember'd how it was with us. 

" But now, lowly in heart, Messiah took 
Mankind's first father by the hand, and led 
His footsteps from that solitary hill 850 

Down to the Paradise below, well named 
A paradise, for never earth has worn 



IV. I AND OF MEN. 145 

Such close similitude to heaven as there. 

The breezes laded with a thousand sweets, 

Not luscious but invigorating, breathed 

Ambrosial odors. Roses of all scents 

Enibower'd the walks ; and flowers of every hue 

Checker'd the green sward with mosaic. Trees 

Hung with ripe clustering fruit, or blossoming 

With promise, on all sides solicited 860 

Refreshment and repose. Perpetual springs 

Flow'd, feeding with their countless rivulets 

Eden's majestic river. By its banks 

The birds warbled in concert ; and the beasts 

Roam'd harmless and unharm'd from dell to dell, 

Or leap'd for glee, or slept beneath the shade, 

The kid and lion nestling side by side. 

" These, summon'd by their Maker, as they pass'd 
Before his feet, the ancestor of men 
Significantly named : such insight God 870 

Had given him into nature : but for him 
Of all these creatures was no helpmeet found. 
And solitude had soon its shadow cast 
Over his birthday's joy : which to prevent 
God drench'd his eyes with sleep, and then and there, 
Still in our aspect, from his very side 
Took a warm rib and fashion'd it anew, 
As lately' He fashion'd the obedient clay, 
Till one like man, but softer gentler far 
(The first of reasonable female sex, 880 

For spirits, thou knowest, are not thus create) 

10 



146 THE CREATION OF ANGELS [BOOK 

He made, and brought her, blushing as the sky 

Then blush'd with kisses of the evening sun, 

Veil'd in her naked innocence alone, 

To Adam. Naked too he stood, but joy 

Not shame suffused his glowing cheek and hers, 

The while their gracious Maker join'd their hands 

In wedlock, and their hearts in nuptial love ; 

Nor left them, till by many a flowery path 

Through orange groves and cedarn alleys winding 890 

At length He brought them to a fountain's brink, — 

The fountain of that river which went forth 

Through Eden, watering its countless flowers 

With tributary rivulets, or mists 

Exhaled at nightfall. There, on either side, 

A fruit-tree grew, shading the limpid spring, 

The tree of knowledge and the tree of life. 

" Hither when they arrived, the Son of God, 
With mingled majesty and tenderness 
Their steps arresting, bade them look around 900 

That garden of surpassing beauty, graced 
With every fruit that earth could rear, and rich 
With every gift that Heaven could give to man, 
And told them all was theirs, all freely theirs, 
For contemplation, for fruition theirs, — 
Theirs and their seed's for ever. But one pledge 
He claim'd of their allegiance and their love, 
And, upon peril of His curse pronounced, 
The awful curse of death, forbade them taste 
The tree of knowledge. Then smiling He turn'd, 910 



IV.] AND OP MEN. 147 

And told tliera of the other tree of life, 
Of which divinest fruit, if faithful proved, 
They by His pleasure should partake at leugth, 
And without death translated, made like Him, 
In heaven and earth, for earth should be as heaven, 
Reap the full bliss of everlasting life. 

" But now the evening sang her vesper song, 
And lit her silver lamps ; and vanishing 
From view of thy first parents, not from ours, 
Messiah rose into the heavens serene, 920 

And, gazing on His fair and finish'd work 
Outsiretch'd before Him, saw that it was good, 
And bless'd it, and in blessing sanctified ; 
Nor sooner ceased, than all the marshall'd host 
Of angels pour'd their rapture forth in songs 
Of Hallelujah and melodious praise. 
No jar was heard. Then sang the morning stars 
Together, and the first-born sons of God 
Shouted for joy, a shout whose echoes yet 
Ring in my ear for jubilant delight. 930 

And He with gracious smile received our praise, 
Lingering enamour'd o'er His new-made world, 
The latest counsel of His love, the while 
Your earth her earliest holiest Sabbath kept, 
Gladden'd with new seraphic symphonies, 
And the first echoes of the human voice. 

u Too quickly' it pass'd. And then, ere we retraced 
Our several paths of service and of rest, 



148 THE CREATION OF ANGELS [BOOK 

Messiah call'd us round His feet once more. 

And said to all, ' Angels, behold your charge, 940 

Your pledge of fealty, your test of faith. 

Thine, Lucifer, of heavenly princes first, 

Earth is thy province, of all provinces 

Henceforth the one that shares My first regards. 

This is thy birthright, which, except thyself, 

None can revoke : this firmamental heaven 

Thy throne ordain'd ; and yonder orb thy realm. 

Thee, My vicegerent, thee I constitute 

God of the world and guardian of mankind. 

Only let this thy lofty service link 950 

Thee closer to thy Lord ; apart from Whom 

This post will prove thy pinnacle of pride, 

Whence falling thou wilt fall to the lowest hell ; 

But under Me thy seat of endless joy : 

If faithless found, thy everlasting shame ; 

If faithful, this thy infinite renown. 

For, lowly' as seems the earth compared with heaven, 

We, the Triune, have sworn that through mankind 

The angels and celestial potentates 

Shall all receive their full beatitude ; 900 

Yea, that Myself, the Uncreated Word, 

Join'd to mankind, shall of mankind elect 

My Church, My chosen Bride, to share with Me 

My glory and My throne and endless love. 

I am the Bridegroom, and the Bride is Mine : 

But yours, ye angel choirs, may be the joy 

Pure and unselfish of the Bridegroom's friend. 

Only be humble : ministry is might, 



IT.] AND OF MEN. 149 

And loving servitude is sceptral rule. 

Ye are My servants, and in serving men 970 

Ye honor Me, and I will honor you/ 

" So spake the Son, and forthwith rose sublime, 
His pathway heralded with choral hymns, 
Till on the heavenly Zion He regain'd 
His Fathers bosom and His Father's throne." 



END OP THE FOURTH BOOK. 




Book jFiftlj. 



THE FALL OP ANGELS AND OF MEN. 



* When throned on that aerial firmament 

Messiah singled out great Lucifer 

As His vicegerent over all the earth, 

Haply not one of the celestial hosts 

But felt in that archangel's rule mankind 

Had surest safeguard against harm. Such power, 

Such glory, such supremacy of will 

Was his. Even now his eclipsed majesty, 

Though fall'n, o'ershadows potentates of heaven. 

But I have seen him, when sublime he came 

Forth from the presence of the Increate, 

His eye glistening with joy for some design 

Of lofty enterprise beyond our reach 

Safely confided to his puissant arm ; 

Some new apocalypse of truth vouchsafed 

To him, as prophet, to reveal to us. 



JO 



THE FALL OF ANGELS AND OF MEN. 151 

Things which to other angels seem'd obscure, 

Were crystal in his eyes : born to command ; 

In stature as in strength above his peers ; 

With whom and him comparison was not, 20 

Except with Michael, next in princely rank, 

And Gabriel the beloved ; three hierarchs — 

But Lucifer the chief. Nor odds appear'd 

In outward state and circumstance of power 

Betwixt him and Messiah, when the Word 

Shrouding the awful blaze of Deity 

Beneath angelic garb, as He was wont, 

Mingled and communed with us face to face. 

All gifts of form, all attributes of mind, 

All high predominance of dignity 30 

Among his fellows, bound that lordly spirit 

To Him who made him such. Oh wherefore not 

The bond of everlasting gratitude ? 

Was it that knowledge with its dazzling light 

Grew yet more rapidly with him than love ? 

God knows, God only, how and when his will, 

Ranging through boundless latitudes of thought, 

First tamper'd with tyrannic pride. Unfallen 

He stood, though not unwavering, when the Son 

Placed in his hand the sceptre of a world. 40 

That crowning gift determined his resolve. 

Then wherefore placed He' it ? Brother, He foreknew 

That arch-imperial will, crown'd or uncrown'd, 

Would yield spontaneous and spontaneous fall 

Untempted, unpersuaded, unseduced 

Save by itself, chafing because controll'd, 



152 THE FALL OP ANGELS [BOOK 

And finite amid God's infinitudes : 

Nor his alone, but myriad spirits of light, 

Wavering like him, like him would fall. And, this 

Foreknowing, nothing to Omnipotence 50 

Remain'd but so to circumscribe the ruin, 

That evil might succumb to good at last, 

And darkness yield to everlasting light. 

For this must Sin be known, her face unmask'd, 

Her carcass stripp'd, her secret shame exposed, 

And thus her loathsome harlotry abhorr'd : 

Mask'd haply she had tainted all alike. 

Hence to the prince of angels was mankind 

Intrusted, and to man the fatal tree 

Straitly forbidden, though accessible. 60 

11 Unfairn had Lucifer received his charge ; 
UnfaH'n, not long. For, when Messiah rose, 
His new creation perfected, to heaven, 
He left as next associate in command 
Gabriel my chieftain : and with him I sate 
One eve conversing, on our watch intent 
(Earth had not kept her circling birthday yet), 
Upon that hill o'erlooking Paradise, 
Where Adam was created, when we heard 
Our leader's footstep, and together rose 70 

To greet him. Salutation with salute 
Freely he answer' d, but as one amused 
With his own thoughts quickly address'd us saying, 

" ' Brothers, I praise you and your faithfulness * 



V.J AND OF MEN. 153 

No meagre proof of true humility 

For thee, archangel Gabriel, thee of all 

Heaven's principalities among the first, 

Here set to guard this latest work of God, 

This freak, this marvel of Omnipotence. 

Yes, we are to believe this worm o' the earth, 80 

A spark may be of immortality 

Enshrined within a mortal coil of flesh, 

Made of the clay we stamp beneath our feet, 

Equal to us the first-born sons of light ; 

Nay more than equal, that through him at last 

Beatitude shall flow to us, and man 

Exalted to the everlasting throne, 

The Bride, so spake Messiah, of Himself, 

Shall see the peerless potentates of heaven 

Standing far off in circles infinite, 90 

Or prostrate at her Bridegroom's footstool. Sure, 

If lowliness, as we have often heard, 

Be measured by the depth that we descend, 

This crowns that coy and virgin grace with praise/ 

" And Gabriel in sarcastic war unversed 
(The sword of sarcasm was not drawn till now) 
Replied without suspicion * Lucifer, 
The smile upon thy mouth betrays thy mind. 
Thou dost but try our fealty, and test 
What answer we should make, if that unknown 100 

Tempter predicted should assail our faith. 
But wherefore should I weary thee, who know est 
Tho easy answer to such sophistries ? 



151 THE FALL OF ANGELS [BOOK 

Our charge is not on man's behalf alone, 

Or chiefly, though our power is likest God's 

Whenever strength sustains infirmity ; 

But rather for His sake who made us both : 

His work is wages, and His smile is heaven. 

What then if we are call'd to stoop to man, 

Our Maker, ours and his, stoop'd lower still 110 

In making and preserving us when made ; 

Both in His glorious likeness wrought. Nor will 

Our common Father raise these later born 

To our disparagement, but higher bliss, 

Through man more nearly' united with Himself. 

And, when the fight foretold is fought and won, 

We, mutable by birth, shall stand henceforth 

For ever in our God immutable, 

By His love and our own experience fenced. 

Such arrows, Lucifer, thyself art judge, 120 

Recoil soon blunted from the shield of faith.' 

" To whom thus Lucifer, < So let it be. 
And, if my language seem too bold, reflect 
It is the tempter, and not I, who speak. 
But were I he, and wert thou, my friend, 
As thou art not, obnoxious to assault, 
I would attempt thee thus. Two paths are ours : 
That which for ages thou and I have trod, 
The pathway of obedience. There remains 
Untrodden that of disobedience. Why J 80 

Should one be always best ? God calls for praise : 
Praising I please Him ; praising not, displease. 



V.] AND OF MEN. 155 

Why should I alway please Him ? Say, I choose 

To be my own eternal lord ? What then ? 

Oh, by those burning thoughts, those hopes that rise 

Within me subject to no will but mine, 

I ask, why are we made thus circumscribed ? 

Are there not possibilities of being 

Higher and nobler far than those we see ? 

Why are these myriads of the hosts of heaven 14U 

So limited in power, that thou or I 

Can scarcely find our mate ? Why less than we ? 

Look at these vast innumerable worlds 

Rolling around us ; why not all the homes 

Of sentient things ? Man, male and female made, 

Is in himself a fountain-spring of life ; 

And why not angels ? Was the gift too great, 

Too perilous for us ? Remember, friends, 

The things that might be always underlie 

The things that are : things possible, things real. 150 

Say, thou art wise and happy, — it is well. 

But why not wiser, happier ? answer me/ 

** i Let Oriel answer/ Gabriel interposed. 

" ' So hath it pleased Eternal Love/ I said, 
Perfect, Supreme, Unfathomable Love. 
To ask why we have finite faculties 
And diverse each from the' other, is to ask 
Why all yon planets are not suns, and suns 
All gorgeous as the heaven of heavens. Enough, 
The universe is music as it is. 1G0 



J 56 THE FALL OP ANGELS [BOOK 

Ye both are greater far than I ; yet I 

Would not be other than I am, whose cup 

•Already mantles to the brim with joy. 

And why yon globes are yet untenanted, 

Though not unuseful as the lamps of God, 

T know no more than why my Maker fix'd, 

As pleased Him, in the mighty Past my birth : 

Nor care I further to inquire, but deem 

His hour is not yet come of whose increase 

Eternity itself shall see no end. 170 

His time, His counsel must be best. Be this 

Our wisdom with Omniscience to converse, 

Our joy the beaming of Eternal Light, 

Our strength to lean upon Almighty Power.' 

" And Lucifer, as strangely moved, replied, 
* I know He is Almighty : but I see 
Another image of Omnipotence, 
The awful Power of self-determined choice. 
Suppose I choose to worship at that shrine, 
What hinders ? Will God drag me to His feet ? 180 
Forced adoration, what were this, and where 
His own irrevocable gift, free-will ? 
Will He destroy me ? Nay, Himself has said 
We Kre endow'd with immortality. 
That fatal dowry makes destruction null. 
What then ? He will beseech me to repent; 
And, if obdurate, punish me ? But how ? 
He spake of death : but what is death to us ? 
Beasts die and birds ; man, made of flesh, may die ; 



V.J AND OF MEN. 157 

But we are spirits, imperishable spirits. 190 

He spake of hell : but where or what is hell ? 

Gabriel, thy lightsome wing from star to star 

Has spann'd creation's height, depth, length, and breadth ; 

Say, brother, hast thou ever seen this hell ? 

What is't ? a place of chains ? of punishment ? 

Can fetters bind ethereal essences ? 

Or would God make a creature who should live 

For ever in perpetual torment ? say, 

Gabriel, is this like God, — God, who is love ? 

Nay, rather when mankind has broken loose 200 

From his poor pledge, as tempted he will break, 

We shall be left sole arbiters of earth, 

And all angelic natures, one by one, 

Or flocking to our side in multitudes, 

Will join us. If I fall, why should they stand ? 

They poorer, I have more to lose than they, 

And yet risk all for freedom ; so will they. 

Ages may pass, but they will fall at last : 

Finite their power, temptation infinite. 

And God will exile me and them from heaven, 210 

And out of boundless space create new worlds, 

New habitants, but henceforth will beware 

How He endows with free-will like His own 

Spirits mutable like ours. All such methinks 

Sooner or later will forsake His throne. 

Nor will our realms be limited, for wide 

As stretches this star-spangled firmament, 

The deep that lies beneath is wider still. 

And there at least we shall be free, unwatch'd, 



158 THE FALL OP ANGELS [BOOK 

Lords of ourselves. His own essential form, 220 

Though in the outer darkness, will make light 

For each one to direct his steps at will. 

Nor will my legions wholly be debarr'd 

From fairer fields. This firmamental throne 

Was given me as my proper seat, this earth 

My destined empire, which I mean to hold 

Against all foes secure. Nay, shudder not : 

Not without God shall I with God contend. 

Himself hath arm'd me for the awful strife. 

He made me free, immortal, innocent : 230 

He made abiding in His love the pledge 

Of service ; which whoever breaks becomes 

His adversary. This mankind will do, 

And straightway will be my allies, my bride, 

Who, if prolific as foretold, shall fill 

My kingdom with an offspring like their sire. 

Say, Gabriel, wilt thou cast thy lot with me, 

Equal associate ? or return to joys, 

Which only seem delightsome, till the higher 

Delights of perfect liberty are known ? 240 

Wilt thou be chain'd or chainless ? bond or free ? ' 

" Impetuous words hung on my lips : but me 
Gabriel prevented : doubt obscured his look, 
Never obscure till now, as thus he spake, 
' Son of the morning, Lucifer, if thou, 
Though for our safer guardianship, assumest 
The tempter, let me answer thee as such. 
False voice ! that image of Omnipotence 



V.J AND OF MEN. 159 

That so allures thee, self-determined will, 

Is but an image, at whose dreadful shrine 250 

"Whoever worships is the slave of self, 

And must expect the portion of a slave, 

Fetters and stripes. Thou say'st there is no hell 

Hast thou explored the secrets of that deep 

Thou claimest as thy heritage and realm ? 

Or if no hell exists as yet, why not 

Exist, as in a moment, if thou sin ? 

Thou canst not die, thou say'st : but what if death 

Be immortality in mortal pain ; 

Not endless nothingness, but endless woe ? 260 

Thou pleadest God is love : but what if love, 

Love to the universe, ay, love to thee, 

Lest worse rebellion worse restraint demand, 

Compel the flashing forth of those pure flames 

Which — now there is no sin, no enemy — 

Innocuous play around His awful throne ? 

All thou foreseest will yield like thee. False seer ! 

Hast thou forgotten that the hosts of God, 

Premonish'd of the coming strife, besought 

His prevalent aid ? And what if some refused, 270 

Weak in the fancied might of innocence, 

The Same who warn'd us enemies should rise 

Foretold their final overthrow. And thou, 

Dost thou forecast the future, and in thought, 

Piercing eternity, assay to clutch 

Earth as thy empire and mankind thy bride ? 

False oracle ! Shall His word be reversed 

Who here ordam'd Messiah Heir of all ? 



160 THE FALL OP ANGELS [BOOK 

Or wilt thou, wrestling with Omnipotence, 

Wrest from His hands the sceptre, or usurp 280 

The smallest foothold of His universe, 

Who by Himself hath sworn that every knee 

Of things in heaven and earth and under earth 

Shall bow beneath His sceptre or His rod ? 

This, if thou wert the tempter, as my heart 

Of thee abhors to think, were my response, 

Now and for ever to reject thy thrall, 

And in the liberty of truth abide/ 

" The Arch-hypocrite replied, * Gabriel, I said 
Thy heart was proof against seductive wiles. 290 

I did but try thee : untried faith is nought. 
Pride has no charms for thee. Impregnable 
Thou standest. Only thus maintain the strife, 
And in the kingdom of eternal peace 
No brighter coronal than thine shall blaze 
Among the innumerable hosts of light. 
Both have our task assign'd us. Mine is now 
To test the faith of others as thine own, 
Detecting whose fidelity is stanch, 
Or who are open to the coming foe.' 300 

" So saying, he left us on that hill. In muse 
Sate Gabriel for long while contemplating 
The moonlight sleeping on the woods and lakes 
Of Eden : but his thoughts were otherwhere, 
And at the last, heaving a heavy sigh, 
He said, ' Oriel, the conflict thickens. Days 



V.] AND OF MEN. 161 

Of peril are upon us. Be it so. 

Farewell, a long farewell, ye hours of peace! 

Thou unsuspecting confidence, farewell ! 

And welcome, so the Master's will be clone, S10 

The strain of battle, and the patient watch 

For hostile stratagem far worse than strength. 

Now, "brother, let us quit ourselves like those 

Whom God has call'd to fight, and pledge our troth 

As fellow-soldiers in the brooding war, 

And fellow-heirs of everlasting peace.' 

" I gave him silently my hand, and there 
Upon that mountain's brow we knelt and pray'd 
For timely succor in our hour of need. 
And, as we rose, the blessed Suriel came 320 

Like lightning from the footstool of the throne, 
And swift of wing spake to us winged words : 

" ' Gabriel, thy prayer is heard. Messiah calls 
Thee to a council of angelic thrones, 
Held in His presence. Oriel, it is thine 
To watch mankind's first parents with a band 
Of holy ones now camping round their bower, 
And guard them from all ghostly violence : 
Other temptations, warn'd, themselves must shun. 
Brothers, my path is devious. Fare ye well.' 330 

u We parted, Gabriel to the heaven of heavens, 
I to heaven's miniature, sweet Eden's vale. 
There in a leafy arbor, side by side, 
11 



162 THE FALL OF ANGELS [BOOK 

Half waking, half asleep, for early dews 

Still drench'd the landscape, Eve on Adam's breast 

Pillow'd her head. Her loose dishevell'd hair 

Part hid the scarlet of her cheek, and part 

CuiTd like a wreathen chain about his neck ; 

While underneath her slender waist his arm 

Embracing pass'd, until the listless hand 340 

Rested upon her heaving bosom. Round 

A company of angels lean'd entranced. 

Nor marvel : thou hast known in pilgrim days 

Earth's princes, weary of their royal state, 

Hang o'er the cradle of a sleeping babe, 

Spell-bound. And so in their most innocent loves 

Was that which moved us more than all the blaze 

Of seraphim, or song of heavenly choirs : 

The very tenderness of flesh and blood ; 

The very weakness of humanity ; 350 

The unutterable sweetness of that bond 

Which link'd them, bone of bone and flesh of flesh ; 

The promise of fertility to Eve ; 

The fresh bloom of that first and loveliest bride 

Unfolding, like rose petals, to the joy 

Of Adam, first and goodliest spouse ; the rites, 

( )f their pure nuptial couch, a couch of flowers, 

Known but unwitness'd (there are mysteries 

Which holy angels guard, but gaze not on) ; 

And the last awful issues, life or death, 360 

With their fidelity or frailty link'd. 

"But now the rosy-finger'd morn aside 



V.J AND OF MEN. 163 

The curtains of the sun's pavilion drew, 

And he arose refresh'd. . So from their sleep 

That innocent pair invigorated rose, 

And from their arbor naked pass'd to pay. 

As they were wont, their early orisons 

Beside the fountain shaded by the trees 

Of knowledge and of life. Both loved the spot 

There oftenest God would walk at eventide, 370 

Or dewy morn, or send some spirit elect 

To gladden more their gladsome solitude : 

A spot more sacred than the stony bed 

Where Jacob slept, and visited more oft 

"With heavenly visitations. 

" So that morn 
Joyful they came. But even as they knelt 
And look'd adoring upward, Adam saw 
Amid the foliage of that sapient tree 
Two glowing eyes, and soon a serpent knew, 
Amazed ; for heretofore nor beast would graze 380 

Beneath it, nor bird light upon its boughs — 
Such awe circled it round — but more amazed 
To hear that sinuous snake utter a voice 
Like God's voice, saying, ' Thou only follow me.' 
And Adam, by preventing prayer unarm'd. 
Obey'd and went, whispering to startled Eve, 
' What this means it is mine alone to search : 
Wait here my quick return.' And through the walks, 
Of Eden, gliding with contorted rings. 
Now twisted in voluminous folds, and now 390 



164 THE FALL OF ANGELS ^BOOK 

Shot forward like a bird upon the wing, 

The serpent led the way, until his voice 

Seductive, ever beckoning ' Follow me/ 

Through many a labyrinth of fruits and flowers, 

Roses with orange groves, myrtles with vines 

Entwining, brought the ancestor of men 

To the far distant gates of Paradise. 

And then again the serpent spake and said, 

1 Here tarry, while I bring a mystic key, 

Which shall unlock these envious gates, and yield 400 

Thee access to the boundless world beyond 

Of undefined delights. Fear nothing. God 

Will guide thee forth, and angels guard thy way, 

Eve thy companion.' 

" So the serpent leased, 
And back with smooth and undulating course 
Slid unimpeded by the tangled woods 
To that salubrious fountain spring, where Eve 
Waited impatiently. Before her feet 
He bow'd submiss, and to her gaze, which ask'd 
Why Adam linger'd, with ambiguous words 
Replied, * He waits thy coming at the gates 
Of Eden, whence ere long thy steps and his 
Issuing shall tread the unexplored expanse 
That lies beyond our narrow vale of bliss. 
But this beware, those gates instinct with life 
Will only on their golden hinges turn 
To one who in his hand a cluster bears 
Of this divinest fruit ; this fruit which first 



V.] AND OF MEN. 165 

Open'd my eyes to see, my tongue to speak. 

Take, fairest Eve, and eat.' 420 

" * Enough,' she said, 
* Our gracious Maker interdicts this tree/ 

" Whereat the serpent subtle' of heart replied, 
' What, hath God placed you in this fruitful vale, 
Fruitful but narrow, and not given you range 
At least of every tree herein to eat ? 
It cannot be. Thou hast misdeem'd His voice.' 

*' And Eve responded, ' Yea, of all the trees 
Innumerable which here flower and bloom, 
And with delicious fruitage tempt our taste, 
We may eat freely. But this tree alone, 430 

Planted as in a temple here by God, 
He, knowing those who eat thereof will die, 
In love denies us.' 

" And the serpent said, 
Ye die ? Die ye ? Ye shall not surely die. 
I ate and died not. I, a serpent, ate ; 
And lo, so far from dying, instantly 
I lived a life to which my former state 
Now bare existence seems. Then first I saw, 
Then spake I, heretofore incapable 
Of mental vision or articulate speech. 440 

This was my only death. And what for thee 
And Adam ? Surely ye will be as gods, 



166 THE FALL OF ANGELS [ BOOK 

Knowing all mysteries of good and ill, 

Divine intelligences, and, no more 

Within this garden's strait precincts confined, 

Shall range at will your boundless heritage. 

And this your Maker knows. Why otherwise 

Placed He this tree within your easy reach ? 

Why, but to test if those sublimer thoughts 

Within your bosom planted by Himself, 450 

Thoughts ever stretching towards the Infinite, 

By one bold venture daring death itself 

(That is, a translation to a higher life — 

There is no other death in yon fair fruit), 

Were worthy of Himself? Take, Eve, and eat. 

For what were all these trees, and what their fruits 

Delightsome in one heap before thee piled, 

Compared with this ? They feed the body' alone . 

This nurtures, elevates, expands the soul. 

They with their ruddy bloom rejoice the eye, 4X>0 

And with their odorous scent the smell ; but this. 

At once in beauty and perfume supreme, 

Clothes all terrestrial things with heavenly light, 

And quickens by its spiritual essences 

The heaven-implanted spirit. Of this, fair Eve, 

This noblest boon of God to Paradise, 

Freely and without fear partake with me/ 

" Into her ear, into her heart the words 
Of that first tempter stole. Now glow'd the fruit 
Deliciously beneath the morning sun, 470 

Sweet to the eye, and sweeter to the mouth, 



V.] AND OF MEN. 167 

Sweetest of all as promising unknown 

Unending banquets to the craving spirit. 

And so, with fatal and disastrous ease 

Lifting her hand into the clustering boughs, 

She touch'd, she took, she tasted. One small taste 

Sufficed. Her eyes were open'd ; and she seem'd, 

The moorings cut which bound her to the shore, 

Launch'd on an ocean of delights. Alas, 

Perfidious sea, on which the fairest bark 4»c 

E'er floated suffer'd foulest wrong and wreck ! 

" Awhile as in a dream she stood, but soon 
Her scatter'd thoughts recall'd, and from the boughs 
Selecting one loaden with luscious fruit 
She pluck'd it bower'd in leaves, and took her way 
To seek her absent lord. Him soon she met 
Returning with no laggard steps ; for when 
The serpent slid with such strange haste away 
The loitering minutes hours appear'd, and then 
A strange solicitude unknown before 49(» 

Began to creep around his boding heart, 
And he retraced his path. But when he saw 
Eve with flush'd cheek and agitated mien 
Advancing, in her hand that fatal branch, 
His heart sank, and his lip quiver'd. And when 
She told her tale, the serpent's honey'd words, 
Her brief refusal, his repeated suit, 
Her answer, his reply, her touch, her taste, 
Then first upon the virgin soil of earth 
Fell human tears, presage of myriad showers. 500 



168 THE FALL OF ANGELS L B00K 

But when again with pleading eye and hand, 
Silent but most persuasive eloquence, 
She pray'd him share with her the fruit she bore, 
Then Adam wail'd aloud : 

" * O Eve, my wife, 
Heaven's last, Heaven's dearest gift, what hast thou 

done ? 
Me miserable ! Thou hast undone thyself, 
Thyself and me ; for if thou diest I die, 
Bone of my bone, flesh of my very flesh, - — 
Eve, in whose veins my heart's best juices flow. 
What can I do, what suffer for thee ? Say 510 

I rigorously refuse this fatal fruit, 
What, shall I see thy warm and gentle limbs 
Stiffen in death, aud live myself? How live? 
Alone ? Or peradventure God will take 
Another rib, and form another Eve ? 
Nay, we are one. My heart, myself am thine. 
Our Maker made us one. Shall I unmake 
His union ? and transfer from heart to heart 
My very life ? Far higher I deem of love, 
No transferable perishable thing, 620 

But flowing from its secret fountain, God, 
Like God immortal and immutable. 
But oh, what follows ? Adam, be thou sure 
Of thy inflexible resolve — death, death : 
Both cannot live, and therefore both must die.' 

" So saying, from her hand he took and ate, 



v.] AND OF MEN. 169 

Not circumveuted by the serpent's fraud, 

But blindly overcome by human love, 

Love's semblance, which belied its name, denying 

The Great Creator for the creature's sake. 530 

" All this, and more than I can tell thee now, 
Ourselves in-visible we saw: and, when 
Evo laid her hand on that forbidden fruit, 
Not one but felt God's interdict alone 
Restrain'd from dashing it aside. This knew 
The wily serpent lay not in our charge, 
Enjoin'd to ward off violence, not fraud. 
But little guess'd we what malignant foe 
Lurk'd in that snake. Nor marvel: who, though 

warn'd 
Dark mysteries of evil were abroad, 540 

Who ever surmised that God-like Lucifer, 
The noblest of the first-born sons of light, 
Would so debase his archangelic form 
As into that sly reptile to descend, 
And mingle his ethereal spirit one hour 
With bestial instinct ? Little then we guess'd 
To what abominations pride will stoop. • 
Nor only we, but heaven's sublimest thrones 
Were here at fault. 

" Three weary days and nights 
We watch'd that miserable human pair, 550 

Weeping their utter ruin. Death had stolen 
Into their bosom's sanctuary : and lo, 



170 THE FALL OF ANGELS [BOOB 

For love despite, for confidence mistrust, 

And for the ringing merriment of joy 

Mourning and heaviness ; but not the death 

For which in desperate expectancy 

They waited. And when this came not, they strove 

(And who that saw them could refrain his tears ? ) 

To hide their shame with fig-leaves loosely strung, 

Lamenting their rent robe of innocence, 5G0 

Rent by themselves. But now the third day's sun 

Was setting, and the wind of evening blew 

Its cool refreshment over wood and wave, 

When to our inexpressible delight, 

But their quick fear, Messjah's voice was heard 

Walking in Eden. In His eye was grief, 

And on His holy brow displeasure, mix'd 

With deep compassion, sate. With gentle voice 

He summon'd those, who in their dread had sought 

The shelter of a leafy labyrinth. 570 

Trembling and pale they came, expecting death 

From Him their righteous Judge ; but He, with all 

A father's pity towards an erring child, 

Father and Judge in one, inquired their shame. 

Alas, their very words betray'd them, while 

Adam on Eve, Eve on the serpent, threw 

The load of guilt. But first upon the last 

The crushing sentence fell, the curse of God. 

No longer emulous of birds in speed, 

Dartiug like light from tree to tree, henceforth 580 

The serpent's belly to the dust should cleave, 

Dust be its nauseous meat, until at length 



7.] AND OF MEN. 171 

The woman's Seed beneath His bruised heel 

Should bruise its head for ever. Mystic words, 

Which, even as utter'd, fill'd our hearts with awe 1 

Then, turning to the serpent's victims, God 

Assign'd to each their lot retributive : 

To Eve were sorrows of the womb and breasts 

Foretold, and multiplied from age to age, 

With strict subjection to her husband's law — 590 

A lot unsoften'd till the Son of man 

Was of a woman born : to Adam, toil 

And bread wrung hardly from his native earth, 

Fruitful of thorns and uater'd with his sweat, 

Till dust should to its kindred dust return. 

" And then mankind's first Priest and Minister 
Before them slew some firstlings of the Hock, 
And pour'd their blood upon the thirsty soil, 
And having flay'd the carcasses consumed 
The flesh upon a sudden hearth of coals : 600 

First altar, and first holocausts, which taught 
The sinner that through sacrifice alone, 
The guiltless for the guilty slain, was now 
For man access to God. This having done, 
He took those skins and fleeces, nor disdain'd 
To fashion garments for their trembling limbs. 
Type of His spotless robe of righteousness, 
And clothed them. Nor till then the Son of God, 
Before He re-assumed His Father's throne, 
In pity lest in some rash hour they dare, tnc 

Fall\n as they were, to touch the tree of life. 



172 THE FALL OF ANGEL8 [BOOK 

And thus (disastrous victory) achieve 

An immortality in mortal sin, 

Drave them before Him, weeping as they went, 

Forth from that happy garden, through its walks 

Of fruit-trees, by its crystal rivulets, 

And past its countless bowers of blossoming shade. 

To Eden's distant gates. These opening wide 

Disclosed what seem'd a tangled wold beyond, — 

Dark forests with their sparse and scanty plots 620 

Of pasture. But no choice remain'd them now. 

Loath went they forth. And at the portal blazed 

The flaming circling sword which warn'd their steps 

From nearer access to the tree of life, 

And cherubim of glory shadowing 

The mercy-seat, the footstool of God's throne. 

J 

" The sun was set. The mists hung heavily 
Around the mountain-tops : Adam and Eve, 
Without the gates but near them as they might, 
Were sleeping for sheer sorrow ; when my prince, 630 
Gabriel, who with Messiah came from heaven, 
Call'd me. Together silently we roam'd 
The lonely walks of Paradise, through trees 
Which to our pensive musing seem'd to droop 
Their foliage as we pass'd ; until we came 
To Eve's now solitary nuptial bower. 
No happy hearts beat there ; no angel guards 
Kept vigil : not a sound ruffled the air — 
Till Gabriel pointing to the desolate couch 
Said, ' See what Sin hath wrought. The die is cast, 640 



V.] AND OF MEN. 173 

The vast conspiracy is now abroad, 

The conflict is begun. Of all the thrones 

Summon'd to meet in council before God, 

Not one was there but Lucifer had tried 

Their faith as ours — whether in truth or not, 

None knew — such subtle ambiguity 

Had clothed his words. Nor only potentates, 

But all the legionary hosts of light, 

Since his vicegerency began, have known 

Struggle with doubts of outer darkness born. 650 

Myriads have fall'n : myriads twice told are firm. 

Thus far the Word reveal'd. But when we ask'd 

"Who was the tempter ? Who had fall'n ? Who stood ? 

How first the war arose, and how would end? 

He answer'd that the strife would shortly prove 

His friends and foes, assaying every spirit ; 

And warn'd us that rebellion, now awork 

Among the hosts of heaven, would forthwith cast 

Its shadow upon earth : that man would fall : 

That days of foul ingratitude would seem 660 

To blot His love : that angels would be devils, 

Traducing God and all that breathed of God : 

That devils would become from a^e to age 

More devilish ; and mankind likewise : that Sin, 

Deadlier eruption than when hidden fires 

Bursting from earth's entrails have wrapt in night 

Former creations, over all would cast 

The mantling pall of death, dreadful eclipse : 

That He, foreseeing all this ruin, had form'd, 

^eep in the unfathomable depth that lies 670 



174 THE FALL OF ANGELS [BOOK 

Beneath the ocean veiling things unseen, 

Two vast receptacles sunder'd though near ; 

One luminous, one dark : the first He named 

After this lovely Eden, Paradise, 

Henceforth the outer court of heaven itself; 

The other, precinct to the fiery lake 

Of dread Gehenna, Hell : and, ever as death 

Touch'd with his icy spear the sons of men, 

Thither their spirits dismantled should descend, 

And there await His judgment-bar, when they 680 

And rebel angels should receive their doom. 

" ' Thus while Messiah spake, who should approach 
His throne, as wearied with unwonted speed, 
But Lucifer? his brow contract, his eye 
Flashing with indignation, which at once 
Burst from his lips — " Mankind, Thy chosen race, 
Ingrate, and only by a reptile urged, 
Have eaten of the fruit proscribed. Wilt Thou 
I smite them, so that in the threaten'd day 
Of their transgression they may perish, Lord ? " 690 
" Myself will judge them," in calm majesty 
The Son replied — " Myself will judge them soon. 
Meanwhile their sin will be its chastisement. 
Sheathe thou thy sword, and to thy charge return." 

" < And forthwith Lucifer obey'd ; and then 
The everlasting Son, as if, methought, 
Reposing on our loyalty and love, 
Turn'd to us saying, " My children, be not ye 



V.] AND OF MEN. 175 

Stagger'd or troubled overmuch. Or ever 

The cloud arose, I warn'd you of the storm. 700 

And fiercely will the tempest rage ere long, 

And the proud billows toss themselves on high, 

And seem to mingle heaven's serene expanse 

With nether darkness. Fear not ye. For I 

Am throned above the angry waterfloods, 

Compassionate because Omnipotent, 

Patient because Eternal. Sons of God, 

Be ye, too, patient. Not by power alone 

Must this great fight be foughten, or My foes 

Beneath the glory of My countenance 710 

Would melt like yonder incense clouds away. 

Howbeit not by power, but love with hate 

Conflicting, and humility with pride, 

Matchless humility with matchless pride, 

My Spirit shall wrestle with the spirit of evil 

In what may seem long while an equal war, 

But shall not prove so in the event. Hereby 

Shall the allegiance of My saints be known. 

There will be adverse powers, yet high in rank, 

The thrones and principalities of hell, 720 

Who shall bear rule through their appointed times, 

And challenge, as My representatives, 

Observance. Evil shall have scope enough, 

And range through heavenly places unconfined, 

The sons of darkness robed as sons of light, 

Until their hideous nature be declared 

And branded with the brand of wickedness, 

(Nor sooner their commission I revoke,) 



176 THE FALL OF ANGELS [BOOK 

Gods of an evil eminence. Till then 
Their eminence observe, their evil abhor. 730 

Avenge not ye My cause. Vengeance is Mine. 
And when My time is come I will arise 
And with the blasting of My breath of wrath 
Scatter My foes, and all My Father's smile 
Reflecting on My saints, angels and men, 
Fill heaven and earth with everlasting joy." 

"' So spake Messiah. And such pure delight 
In blessing and responsive blessedness, 
Such calm assurance, such triumphant love 
Breathed in His aspect, none who saw but clave 740 
To Him with new intensity of zeal ; 
And, arduous as the strife foretold might prove, 
All felt beneath the banner of His love 
Labor was bliss, and battle victory. 
And soon the council was dissolved. The rest 
Thou know'st: man's summons to his Maker's feet; 
His and Eve's sentence, and expulsion hence • 
But tell me how the guileful serpent led 
Those guiltless to transgress , for much I deem 
Angels from men as men from angels learn.' 750 

" Then I to Gabriel told what now to thee 
Of Eden's wreck. Nor then alone, but oft 
That great archangel summon'd me to rove 
With him among those solitary walks, 
And talk of happier days. But time would fail 
Here to retrace the ages, age by age 



Vj AND OF MEN. 177 

Darker and more defiled, until the earth 
Was filTd with lust and rapine. Not at once, 
In men or angels, the abhorrent plague 
Appear'd in all its loathsomeness. But as 760 

In some fair virgin's bosom a small spot, 
As if a thorn had prick'd the delicate skin, 
Rises and spreads an ever-fretting sore, 
Creeping from limb to limb, corrosive, foul, 
Until the miserable leper lives 
A dying life, and dies a living death : 
So there. What though the cherubim diffused 
Their glory at the gates of Paradise, 
Earth's altar-hearth of worship : w T hat though men 
Peer'd through those golden bars on heavenly fields : 770 
What though they knew the tree of life within 
Shed month by month its beatific fruit, 
Unpluck'd but unremoved, a silent pledge 
Of immortality not wholly lost : 
What though thy eldest ancestors, themselves 
The firstfruits of redeeming pity' and love, 
Their children and their children's children told 
(A few millennial lives link'd all to each) 
Of man's primeval state : all was in vain. 
The babe whom Eve, drying her woful tears, 780 

Clasp'd as the promised Seed, while angels stood 
Around unwitness'd sponsors to his name, 
Arrived at years, too soon betray'd himself 
Begotten of the Serpent's venomous brood, 
His brother's murderer : I was one who bore 
That protomartyr to his saintly rest : 
12 



178 THE FALL OF AXGELS [BOOK 

Dark omen of dark days to come. Arts grew 

Apace, but chiefly minister'd to arms ; 

Till Earth grew sick with deeds of violence, 

Sick at the heart. And when a holy seer, 790 

Who walk'd with God amid a godless world, 

Stood forth, and by the Prescient Spirit foretold 

Jehovah's Advent with His myriad saints 

To judgment, soon the madden'd multitude 

Had torn that prophet limb from limb, except 

The Master whom he served had stoop'd, and borne 

His servant in His whirlwind chariot home. 

ft And then the darkness deepen'd. Men with men 
Wrought wickedness. Nor less the spirits malign, 
The which when first they fell, as I have known, 800 
Compassionated even the wreck they made, 
Grew in malignity, till crime and craft 
Became to them what virtue once had been, 
Their joy, their nature, their essential life: 
Lovers of darkness, foul, obscene, impure ; 
Some darker, fouler than the rest. Of whom 
Were Uziel and Samchasai his mate, 
By birthright sons of God, now sons of wrath, 
Who, prompted by the boast of Lucifer, 
Mankind should be his bride, and stung with lust, 810 
Mix'd with the daughters of unhappy Eve, 
Heirs of her beauty, not her penitence, 
In wedlock. Fatal league ! whence soon arose 
The monstrous brood of giants, ruthless race, 
Offspring of human and angelic kind, 



V."] AND OF MEN. 179 

Who now confusion more confused, and stain'd 

The fairest homes with violence and blood. 

Rapine ran riot on the earth. Alas, 

Was this the earth, whose birth we blithely sang ? 

Hell gloated o'er the ruin : till the Arch-spirit, 820 

Who ever at heaven's circling festivals, 

Cloaking his malice under show of zeal, 

His bitter accusations plied, at last 

Affirm'd all godliness extinct, and pray'd 

For vengeance on the wretched sons of men 

To vindicate the majesty of heaven. 

False spirit, in after ages Devil call'd, 

The lying father of all lies ! But then 

He seem'd to triumph when the Word replied, 

One saintly patriarch alone was left ; 830 

And, if mankind refused his warning voice, 

Then after respite due the wrath should Ml. 

" Fresh respite only fresh rebellion bred. 
Earth fainted at her children's deeds. And God, 
With whose unalterable attributes 
Grief jars not, grieved within His heart, that man 
Was made .for disobedience to unmake. 
Judgment awoke, and watch'd with tearful eye 
The cup of crime fast rising to the brim, 
And trembling on the very edge. Meanwhile 840 

At I lis command the ponderous ark was built, 
That jest of scoffers, on the wooded plains 
Of Assliur. Little reck'd the sons of men ; 
The shipwrights lightly jested as they wrought. 



180 THE FALL OF ANGELS [BOOK 

And ask'd if that huge vessel were to mount 

The hills or navigate the sandy wastes ? 

They ate, they drank, they wooed them wives and won, 

They builded palaces, they planted trees, 

Rich with for distant promise. Drop by drop 

The measure of ungodliness was fill'd. 850 

It overflow'd. And forthwith Lucifer, 

Whether his eye, burning like coals of fire, 

With indignation gleam'd, or proud despite, 

Some doubted, claim'd the overhanging wrath 

Should fall as threaten'd on his guilty realm. 

" His triumphing was short. For now the Son 
Came by a legion of His armed saints 
Attended (I was there), and sent us forth 
To seize amid their foul indulgences 
(So Phinehas the lustful Zimri smote) 8G0 

First victims, Uziel and his cursed crew 
Surprised, and bring them fetter'd hand and foot 
Before Him. As He spake, so was it done. 
And these Messiah, in the sight of all 
Fall'n and unfall'n alike, adjudged to lie 
In chains of darkness in the lowest hell, 
Reserved unto the dreadful day of doom. 
Immediately we led them forth. No hand 
Was raised for rescue, and no pleading voice 
For mercy. Terror shook the adverse ranks 870 

To lee some of their mightiest thus arraign'd, 
And cast to punishment condign : nor less 
Forebodings of like vengeance on themselvea 
Disturb'd their guilty thoughts. 



V.] AND OF MEN. 181 

" While startled heaven 
Thus first beheld empyreal thrones dethroned, 
Earth trembled underneath her Maker's frown. 
The ark received her freightage, Noah last : 
Then God shut to the door : and massive clouds 
From treasure-houses inexhaustible 
Mantled the firmament in black, and burst Sao 

In torrent floods on the soon sated plains. 
The rivers spurn'd their custom'd banks. The sea 
Roar'd, and enormous waves, crested with foam, 
Broke with incessant flow o'er sands and cliffs, — 
Vain barriers ! Whether now the ocean beds, 
By subterranean fires upheaved and raised, 
Disgorged the secrets of their pathless depths ; 
Or whether, as the moon's calm influence draws 
The refluent tides in daily ebb and flow, 
So now she or some planetary orb 89U 

Displaced, or in malign conjunction set, 
Drew more than half their waters from those seas 
Which more than half submerge thy native globe, 
Charging the heaven with clouds, and wrapping earth 
From pole to pole in one unbroken flood, 
A dreary waste of ocean without shore. 
And only by the solitary ark 
Relieved, the second cradle of mankind. 

" So saw I it, returning with my peers 
From our sad quest to Hades. Not that those 900 

Alone within the patriarch's vessel hid 
Found mercv. Thev alone were saved from death. 



182 THE PALL OF ANGELS [BOOK 

But others, when the flood of waters rose 

From shores to plains, from plains to upland slopes, 

From slopes to craggy rocks, from rocks to hills 

Still fugitive, at last betook themselves 

To agonizing prayer, their sin and guilt 

With bitter anguish not unmix'd with faith 

Bewailing, ere the lamp of life was quench'd ; 

Too late for rescue from the whelming waves, 910 

But not for that Almighty love they sought 

To snatch them from a lower depth beneath. 

And these, a remnant of that ruin'd world, 

Surnamed the disembodied spirits in ward, 

Were convoy'd to a lonely vale distinct 

With its own walks and gates in Paradise : 

Nor mingled with the other Blessed Dead, 

Till He, who grasp'd the keys of death and hell, 

Himself unbarr'd those portals, and proclaimed 

The everlasting triumph of the cross. 920 

*' Justice had had its way ; and Mercy's voice 
Was now heard pleading in the ear of God 
Well pleased. Heaven closed its windows, and the deep 
Restrain'd its fountains, while the arid winds 
Swept o'er the floods, until the floating ark 
Grounded on Ararat, whose haughty peaks 
Soon from the tide emerged, islands of rock 
'Mid those subsiding waters. Day by day 
The thirsty sun drank seas. And when the dove, 
A second time returning to her roost, 930 

Brought in her mouth a tender olive-leaf, 



V.J AND OP MEN. 183 

Emblem of peace, then Noah and his sons, 
With living tribes innnmerons, beasts and birds, 
Forth from the ark came flocking. And ere long 
The smoke of sacrifice arose, and God 
Smell'd a sweet savor of obedient faith, 
And set His opal rainbow in the clouds, 
A token when His judgments are abroad 
Of His perpetual covenant of peace. 

" Thus have I at thy suit in brief retraced 940 

The early annals of Creation's birth, 
Its cloudless sunrise, cloudless soon no more, 
Obscured and dark, but in its darkness spann'd 
By the pure arch of promise. Time remains 
(Thine eye forbids me think I weary thee) 
To tell thee of another better ark, 
Like Noah's, cast upon the stormy floods, 
But sheltering One who gave His life for man, 
A nobler Victim on a holier mount, 
The fragrance of which perfect Sacrifice 950 

Breathes infinite beatitude, and spans 
The clouds of judgment with eternal light." 

Thus Oriel spake, and after grateful pause, 
bweet silence, and yet sweeter interlude 
Of music on melodious strings, resumed 
Tho story of the great To-day of Time. 

END OF THE FIFTH BOOK. 




THE EMPIRE OP DARKNESS. 

" The rainbow, that o'er Noah's sacrifice 

Stamp'd on the morning clouds the smile of God, 

Had scarcely hidden in the amber light 

Its unremaining hues, when Lucifer 

Summon'd his scatter'd armies to attend 

His presence on his great viceregal throne, 

Set in the airy firmament. Far off 

The signal of the archangelic trump 

Rang through the void of heaven, and all his hosts 

Flocking in numbers without number stood, 

Cohorts and fiery legions arm'd for war, 

At awful distance from the standard waving 

Hard by his seat. Around it thrones were set 

In imitation of the mount of God, 

And soon a clarion blast resounding call'd 

The rebel chieftains from their serried ranks 



T1IE EMPIRE OF DARKNESS. 185 

To close about their Prince. Congress malign 

Of powers in common covenant with death, 

Gloomy conspirators, despair of good 

Graved on their brow, and in their baleful eyes 20 

Hunger for mischief! But their robes of light 

And coronets of glory flashing fire 

Dazzled the empyrean, nor bespoke 

Less than a synod of apostate gods ; 

Whom Satan, over all predominant 

In cruelty and craft and fiendish pride 

As in infernal splendor, thus address'd : 

•' ' Virtues of heaven, my comrades,- who with me 
Have rather chosen liberty and war 
Than vassalage and ease, noble have been 30 

And vast beyond my highest hopes achieved 
Our triumphs. Where is now that innocent world 
Which God created for His pastime ? Where ? 
Destroy'd, except a miserable few 
Hardly escaping with their skins, and they 
Sure victims in their turn to our intrigues. 
Messiah said that life should fight with death, 
And good with evil. They have fought. But whose. 
Proudly I ask, the victory? ours or God's? 
Not God's, but ours. One solitary seer, 40 

One only has been snatch'd from death and us. 
Is this the uttermost the Prince of Life, 
Aided by Michael and his peers, can do 
For His poor servants ? Nay, I wrong His rule : 
Some obscure suppliants age by age have foil'd 



186 THE EMPIRE OF DARKNESS. [BOOK 

Our efforts immature as yet. The rest 

Have rather seem'd to court our tutelage 

Than we to proffer it ; and greedily 

Have revell'd in what we misdeem, no doubt, 

Hard servitude with scanty wages paid. 50 

So fertile in that cursed soil have proved 

The germs of sin. Darkness, tremendous Power, 

I see it written on the scrolls of fate, 

Must reign for ever there. But not from this 

My only confidence of empire. God, 

As I forewarn'd you, wars with God : and hence 

Interminable strife, or endless truce. 

What are they but His attributes in us 

That baflle Him ? Had He uot fashion'd us 

Free and immortal, He had forced our love, 60 

Or in a moment quench'd our feeble hate. 

But now Omnipotence hath bound itself, 

Nor can Omniscience pierce the shrine of thought 

Itself has made inviolate. Think you 

Messiah knew me, when of all His hosts, 

Of all His flaming myriads, me He made 

God of the world and guardian of mankind, 

And for His viceroy chose His bitterest foe ? 

Ah, friends, He was too prodigal of gifts, 

And now repents too late. Wisdom and might 70 

Have here outwitted and outdone themselves. 

But now, ye gods, advise how best to wage 

Protracted warfare : for it seems mankind, 

As from a second centre, shall proceed 

To propagate their race — matter to us 



VI.J THE EMPIRE OF DARKNESS. 187 

Of future triumph. Let them multiply : 

•They only multiply our wealth in slaves. 

Were they upright as Adam, ere he fell, 

And pure as was their unstain'd mother, Eve, 

Did innocence secure those guileless hearts 80 

From guile ? And these, impair'd by sin, will prove 

An easier booty. That pellucid belt, 

Slung on the clouds, forbids us hope or fear 

Another flood of waters. And henceforth, 

Safe from such vast catastrophe of ruin, 

Though sweeping millions into hell at once, 

We weave our snares, and ply our arts to draw 

From their allegiance all the sons of men, 

Not one like that grave patriarch uuseduced 

(For see how God's love lingers over one) : 90 

Then shall we reign without a rival here, 

This firmament our throne for ever. Say, 

What counsel or what might were best employ'd 

For this great enterprise, in which we stand 

Equal antagonists to heaven in arms ? ' 

" He ask'd, and Baalim arose, who next 
Shone in that fallen hierarchy sublime : 
Himself the prince of three, who with him wrought 
In all things, Belus and Beelzebub, 
A triad of angelic thrones. For God, 100 

Who, when He lit the firmamental dome, 
Hung in the heavens a thousand double stars, 
Triple, quadruple, multiple, around 
Each other or a common centre poised, 



188 THE EMPIRE OF DARKNESS. [BOOK 

With colors complementary to each, 

Associate suns of glory, — God who group'd 

The Pleiads in their glittering sisterhood, 

Thus in the birthtime of creation wove 

Innumerable bonds 'twixt spirits and spirits, 

Source of untold delights in holy hearts, 110 

Sweet concords, charities, and tender loves, 

As with the fourfold cherubim, instinct 

With One presiding Spirit : but in the rest, 

Apostate, breeding worse conspiracies ; 

Which now appear'd, when Baalim, his brow 

Clouded with counsel, pride impersonate, 

A trinity of wills in one express'd, 

Thus open'd to his peers in crime his mind : 

" ' Well hast thou summon'd us, O Lucifer, 
To consultation. Hitherto the war, 120 

Though crown 'd with victory beyond our hopes, 
Has lack'd deliberate plan. And now mankind, 
Afflicted by the recent flood, will prove 
Less facile to our desultory' assaults. 
My counsel is, mindful how we ourselves, 
Combining and conspiring, spirit with spirit, 
Under thy subtle leadership, Prince, 
Escaped the yoke, whenever flesh and blood 
Have swarm'd into a multitude again, 
To bind their scatter d tribes and families 180 

In one confederate nation. Let one name 
Unite thern. Let one vast metropolis 
Foster one common pride. Or, if ye will, 



VI.] 



THE EMPIRE OF DARKNESS. 189 



Incite them to erect some mountain pile 
Whose top shall reach to heaven in their surmise, 
And let this be their citadel of strength 
For after ages. So shall deeds of wrong, 
"Which timid hearts had shrunk from if alone, 
Be wrought together in defiant league.' 



■© 



" So counsell'd Baalim ; and after him 140 

Rose on his right Apollyon, truculent 
His eye, and on his flaming sword half drawn 
Rested his restless hand. * Comrades,' he said, 
' If Baalim's design prevail, and one 
Colossal empire stride athwart the world, 
What room were left for war ? What space for fields. 
Where I have reap'd the richest sheaves of death, 
And mingling with the hostile ranks infused 
Infernal hatred into human hearts ? 
Nay, be it ours to nurture rival realms, 150 

Ourselves o'er them presiding (we shall love, 
As loves the prowling wolf its chosen flock, 
Each one his kingdom), and then sow betwixt 
Suspicions / hatreds, lusts, whence wars are spawn'd, 
Until we lead their armies fired with rage 
To mutual slaughter, foiling Him who made 
All of one common blood. Ye have my mind.' 

" Apollyon sate, gloomy as death. But now 
Near him arose, the loveliest in form 
Of all the lost archangels, Ashtaroth, — 160 

The corypheus of a band of spirits, 



190 THE EMPIRE OF DARKNESS. [BOOK 

Six spirits, himself the seventh, and the rest 

Only less lovely than their chosen chief, — 

Of winning voice and sweet attractive grace ; 

So gentle, that his worshippers on earth 

Deem'd him a goddess, though none such exist 

Among the fallen or unfallen hosts ; 

In diverse countries known by diverse names 

Hereafter: by the virgin troops of Tyre 

Surnamed Astarte, but in Nineveh 170 

Mylitta call'd ; along the isles of Greece 

Invoked as Aphrodite ocean-born, 

As Venus by the stately dames of Rome ; 

But in all lands adored with moonlight rites 

And softest hymns melodious. Ah, false fiend, 

In whose perfidious eye damnation lurks, 

A chalice in his hand of sparkling wine 

Whereof who drinks must die, and on his lip 

Kisses and smiles and everlasting woe ! 

" ' Thine, lordly Baalim, the task severe 180 

Of building vast confederacies of pride : 
And thine, Apollyon, jarring wars to breed 
Among the nations. But to me belongs, 
To me and to my legionary band, 
The smoother but the not less onerous work 
Of garlanding with buds and flowers and fruits 
The paths of pleasurable youth. I hang 
Around the traveller's footsteps day and night 
Singing my dulcet songs, and few are they 
Who close their ears against the charmer's voice. 19u 



VI.] THE EMPIRE OF DARKNESS. 191 

Each victim draws his mate : the throngs increase : 

They cluster round my cloud-like draperies : 

They press around my glancing feet : as moths 

That scorch their wings against the ardent flame, 

But stay not till with many an airy flight 

They plunge at last into their fiery tomb. 

Men call me Love, the deity of love. 

And thus it happen'd ; when I saw that lust 

Conceiving brought forth sin, and sin alone 

Could wrest from God the empire God had made, 200 

I thought the best perverted would be worst, 

And chose the holiest of connubial rites, 

The mutual laying open each to each 

Of life's profoundest purest sanctities, 

And deem'd infusing poison there to mar 

The river at its fountain. The event 

Hath not belied my hopes. Friends, I have breathed 

Upon the lamp of hymeneal joy, 

And it hath sicken'd, sickeu'd and expired, 

Almost as soon as lighted.; Oftener yet 210 

Have I beguiled unstable hearts to seek 

In license pleasures God has link'd to love, 

And blown upon their innocence, and bent 

In triumph not unmix'd with pity' and scorn 

O'er the uuhallow'd couch. Men arm'd in proof 

Against all other wiles have yielded here, 

And, conquer'd by a glance, a blush, a sigh, 

For one brief hour upon a stranger's bosom 

Have barter'd immortality of bliss. 

And haply in my woven chains of flowers, 220 



192 THE EMPIRE OF DARKNESS. [BOOK 

Chains light as gossamer, I, Baalim, 
Have bound more captives to our prince's car 
Than thou hast held in fortresses of power, 
Or thou, Apollyon, slain on fields of blood/ 

" And, as the fallen seraph sate, he threw 
A glance of such bewitching tenderness 
Around the assembly, none who caught his eye 
But felt, and with involuntary assent 
Did homage to the spell : his radiant form 
Recline or standing seem'd embodied grace, 230 

And the melodious treble of his voice, 
Like the far echo of seraphic harps, 
Rang in their ears : when on a sudden one, 
In stature low for gods, of downcast look, 
Rose from the furthest of those golden thrones, 
Mammon his name. His slow and painful words 
At first seem'd clinging to his lips, but soon 
Fell on that council with momentous weight, 
Nor least upon its haughty president : 

" ' I too have poised the heart of man, and watch'd 
With sleepless eye what avenue may best [240 

Yield us access. And here I answer, Gold. 
Smile not that yellow dust should have such power ; 
For what is man but dust ? What marvel then 
Dust over dust holds sway ? The blighted earth 
No longer yields him her spontaneous fruit. 
Poor wretch, his sweat moistens his daily bread. 
Labor is bread, and bread is life : and thus 



VI. I THE EMPIRE OF DARKNESS. 193 

He lives a pensioner for every breath 

Upon Another's bounty — yoke to us 250 

Insufferable, not the less to man. 

But gold appears a tower other than God, 

With honors, pomp, and endless pleasures stored- 

Impregnable while life shall last. Poor fool, 

He knows not in the lowest keep a fire 

Smoulders in its own ashes self-conceal'd : 

It glows ; it flames ; it never says, Enough — 

More is more fuel — till the shrivell'd soul, 

Alive but wrapt in cerements of death, 

Breathes out itself upon that funeral pyre. 200 

Whatever counsels may obtain this day. 

Let mortals worship at this golden shrine, 

They will not fail of hell. What would ye more ? ' 

u So Mammon sate ; and opposite arose 
Moloch, tremendous deity, who thus 
Louring address'd his peers : 

" ' There is a power 
Mightier than pride, or war, or pleasure's thrall. 
Or greed of gold, — the intolerable pangs 
Of conscience seeking rest and finding none, 
The terror which hath torment. Slighting this, 270 
We do ourselves, we do our cause much wrong. 
Friends, I have seen the wretched outcast rove, 
Driven by the anguish of tyrannic guilt, 
From land to land self-exiled. I have seen 
Parents imbrue their clench'd hands in the blood 

13 



194 THE EMPIRE 01 DARKNESS. [BOOK 

Of their own children. Nor do I despair 

Of more. So dreadful are the shadows cast 

From the dark outlines of that prison of death 

Whence never yet a prisoner return'd, 

That unknown all-embracing dungeon house, 280 

What likelier in process of time than they 

Of men most miserable, finding God 

Deaf to their rebel importunities, 

Should call upon the dead ? a bootless cry, 

Which nathless we will condescend to hear, 

And by permission answer those who sell 

Their souls for hidden lore, ordaining them 

ftot without dismal rites of sorcery 

Our priests and priestesses. So shall we wield 

An enginery of next to' Almighty power. 290 

For conscience hath in it the strength of God, 

Which can creation uncreate, and make 

A hell of heaven. It is God's oracle : 

And if our voice be but mista'en for God's, 

The terror-stricken worshipper is ours, 

Body and soul, for ever and for ever.' 

"As Moloch spake, his gloomy words though brief 
Su?h echo found in lamentable hearts 
Once calm as yonder firmament, but now 
Vex'd and disquieted and ill at ease, 300 

(For what was man's unrest to theirs, though like?) 
That misery held them mute. Which soon their chief 
Perceiving, fearful lest remorse might lead 
Any to mourn their choice (example dire), 



VI. J THE EMPIRE OF DARKNESS. 195 

Majestically rising from his throne 
Around the council threw his scornful eye 
Burning with pride, and thus resumed debate: 

* ' Thrones, virtues, principalities, and powers, 
Titles vouchsafed us not in vain by One 
Who never of His words or gifts repents, 310 

Ours therefore by inalienable right, 
Ye hear your brethren. Well have they advised. 
Let Baalim his empire raise supreme, 
Or empires out of ruin'd empires build, 
Each greater than the last (for who can doubt 
That God will cross our counsels ? vain attempt) 
Each worse, — a worse must still be possible, — 
Our scale of greatness. Let Apollyon whet 
The keen edge of intestine feuds and wars. 
Let Ashtaroth in chains of love or lust 320 

Lead forth his groups of willing prisoners, 
Gay captives, garlanded with fading flowers, 
Behind our chariot wheels. Let Mammon heap 
Fuel for fire on stubborn hearts, and there 
Foster the secret flame unquenchable. 
And last, though loftiest enterprise, be thou, 
O Moloch, as a god to men, and grasp 
Their conscience with the iron gripe of fate. 
We need your banded strength. Nothing, O peers, 
Nothing is done while aught remains to do. 330 

We have not trodden yet the unseen shades, 
Divided, if report speaks true, betwixt 
A paradise of bliss aud prison of woe ; 



196 THE EMPIRE OF DARKNESS. [BOOR 

To us alike impenetrable. At least 

I own my uttermost of effort foil'd, 

By some obscure necessity debarr'd, 

Some limit against which I dash'd my wings 

As against viewless crystal. Be it so. 

We have not yet achieved the battle-field, 

Nor can expect the provinces beyond. 340 

Earth once our trophy, we shall conquer peace, 

And soon behold the regions under earth 

Abandon'd by their Maker, nothing loath, 

Beiuo- we leave the walls of heaven unsealed. 

Earth, earth must first be ours. But, friends, for this 

"We must defile mankind ere we destroy : 

Evil must go before us, death behind. 

God has not yet forsaken man, nor yet 

Suffers that we assail the fleshly tent 

Of his short pilgrimage. Herein beware. 350 

Here Samchasai and Uziel with their hosts 

Erring have fall'n ; a fall to be avenged, 

Not follow'd. What, shall we, celestial powers, 

For the brief lust of carnal pleasure mar 

Our mighty future ? Tush, leave this to man, 

Your dupes and drudges. Or if thoughts of joys, 

Forbidden to angelic natures, stir 

Within your bosom, only' abide your time, 

And when the realms of darkness are defined, 

And God has yielded this fair earth to us, 3b0 

As He must yield when utterly corrupt, 

Then shall ye and your legions, as ye list, 

Act by mankind, your conquer'd heritage. 



VI.] THE EMPIRE OF DARKNESS. 197 

I will not question how ye treat your slaves. 

Meanwhile be this our sleepless care to' estrange 

Them and their God, rousing His wrath, their hate. 

How think ye ? Had He not at Eden's gate 

His mercy-seat and altar blazing nigh, 

Whereat who knelt with sacrifice and prayer 

Alone repulsed our arms ? Henceforth, O peers, 370 

If men will worship, let them worship us, 

Despite the everlasting interdict 

Which severs things unseen and seen. Why not? 

Let them make images of wood and stone, 

Brass, iron, silver, gold, and call them gods, 

Adoring us in them by countless names. 

My counsel moves your laughter. But if once 

The Almighty, jealous of His name blasphemed, 

Swear in His wrath that He disowns mankind, 

Our work is done, the empire is our own. 380 

Be it thy charge, O subtle Sammael, 

Thou master of the spells of ignorance, 

To blind their eyes and indurate their hearts. 

For now our watchword must be fraud, not force ; 

Darkness our panoply : and of success 

The past affords us no uncertain pledge/ 

" He spake, and murmurs of assent not loud 
But deep, — as is the ocean's sudden roar, 
When a careering blast with tempest charged 
Down rushing through the mountain gorges strikes 
The waters of a rocky bay, whose cliffs [390 

And caves re-echo when the storm is past, — 



198 THE EMPIRE OF DARKNESS [BOOK 

Spread in interminable waves of sound 

Along those countless ranks. Gladly they crouch'd, 

As weaker spirits will crouch, beneath the shade 

Of wickedness more wicked than their own, 

And call'd upon their prince as God : when, lo, 

A cloud impenetrable to all light, 

At first not larger than the mystic hand 

The prophet's servant saw from Carmel's rocks, 400 

Hung poised above the throne of Lucifer, 

And, spreading with the speed of thought, o'erhung 

The apostate armies, shroud of dreadful gloom, 

Darkness that might be felt. Nor dark alone, 

But soon sharp lightnings nash'd abruptly ; bright 

Startling the black a moment, and then quench 'd ; 

"While volleys of tremendous thunder shook 

The furthest empyrean, and the hearts 

Of that rebellious host. Speechless they stood 

And stricken, as if every peal announced 410 

The crash of worlds. In horror Lucifer 

Gazed upward, sinking on one knee appall'd. 

For still the darkness deepen'd, and the wrath 

Apparent stamp'd on every guilty brow 

Its scathing impress ineffaceable, 

The death-brand on the children of despair. 

And for one dreadful hour, one of heaven's hours, 

None from his seat arose, or station stirr'd, 

Or moved his lip, or trembled. Terror froze 

Their hearts insensible, until a sound, 420 

More terrible than thunder, vibrated 

Through every spirit, Jehovah's awful laugh, 



VI. J THE EMPIRE OF DARKNESS. 199 

Mocking their fears and scorning their designs, 
The laughter of Eternal Love incensed. 
It pass'd ; and then as suddenly the sky- 
Was clear, and save the graven brand on each 
No vestige of that cloud of wrath remain'd. 

•' Nor was it long before the rebel host 
Resumed their courage, and in marvel gazed 
Each on the other that the vengeful flame 430 

Had smitten none amongst them, and ere long 
Jested at their own fears, but vainly' assay'd 
To rase the ineradicable sign 
Too deeply on their cursed brow inured ; 
But, finding all their efforts useless, laugh'd 
At this dark badge, which Satan told his mates 
(Satan henceforth his name, and demons theirs) 
"Was the predestined bruise on him and his, 
The serpent and its seed : — cheap penalty, 
He vaunted, for a world, and gladly paid, 440 

A warrior's honorable scar, the pledge 
Of daring and of desperate revenge. 

" So in their fiendish pride they schemed. But this 
Shadow of things to come was but the first 
Faint pressure of God's hand, a transient breath 
Blown from that wrath which to the lowest hell 
Burns and shall burn for ever, — though by them 
Discredited, when forth in swarms they went 
From that infernal senate, as they thought 
To wrest the sceptre from Almighty power, 450 



200 THE EMPIRE OP DARKNESS. [BOOK 

And baffle the All-wise in counsel. Fools, 

And blind ! Vainly, when plann'd by Baalim 

The city of confusion rear'd its brow 

Towards heaven, a whisper of God's voice perplex'd 

The builders' language and their works at once. 

When Ashtaroth, standing himself aloof, 

Through some of his perfidious crew defiled 

With lust and blood the cities of the plain, 

Vainly the fiery wrath too long provoked 

Fell undistinguishing on men and fiends, 46fc 

And made of earth's most fragrant flowery vale 

A picture of Gehenna's burning lake. 

And when at last the prince of darkness, couch'd 

In symbol of the great leviathan, 

The dragon of the river floods of Nile, 

Harden'd the heart of Pharaoh, scourged by all 

Heaven's plagues, until it grew like adamant, 

And led him to assay the ocean depths 

And satisfy his lust on Israel there, 

Vainly God moving in the pillar cloud 470 

Smote with His glittering sword that monster's head, 

And with the wreck of chariots and of arms 

And horsemen overta'en in baleful rout 

Cumber'd the waters and confused the shores. 

All was in vain. Each desperate repulse 

But seem'd to kindle fiercer subtler hate 

In those infatuate spirits, till I have seen 

The cheek of Michael alter with distress, 

And all the hosts of heaven astonied stand, 

As couriers in successive hours announced 480 

Hell's endless crafts, each deadlier than the last. 



VI.] THE EMPIRE OF DARKNESS. 201 

* The clouds yet brooded upon Sinai's peaks, 
And twice ten thousand chariots flashing fire 
Attended Him, who plants His steps serene 
Upon the whirlwind and the storm, and there 
Was communing, as communes friend with friend, 
With Amram's princely son, when Sammael, 
(In Egypt as the great Osiris known,) 
By all the judgments on his countless fanes 
And Satan's ghastly wound unterrified, 490 

Moved Israel and their timid priest to cast 
Their idol god, and interweave with songs 
Their naked dances round the golden calf; — 
Vision to us of horror and of grief, 
Presaging woes. Ah, faithless children ! Still 
The manna fell around their pilgrim tents ; 
The living water from the smitten rock 
Still track'd their devious steps ; the fiery cloud, 
Shadowing the tabernacle, still bespoke 
Jehovah's awful Presence ; — when they turn'd 500 

(Hard to believe, though seen) and chose for gods 
Grim Moloch's shrine and Remphan's lurid star. 
But Mercy strove with Judgment, and prevail'd, 
And led them to the promised land, a land 
With milk and honey flowing, redolent 
With Eden's fragrance in a fallen world, 
The glory of all other lands. But there 
Abandoning ere long the holy tent, 
In Shiloh first, after on Zion pitch'd, 
Throngs of insensate worshippers besiege 510 

Lewd Baal's gates in Bethel and in Dan. 



202 THE EMPIRE OF DARKNESS. [BOOK 

But little boots it to recall those scenes 

Of foul apostasy, though here and there 

Illumined with celestial lights of faith 

And virtue militant. Once only' it seem'd, 

When saintly David fell on sleep, and left 

To Solomon his sceptre, prince of peace, 

Angels might yet behold upon the earth 

A nation witness for the truth. Ah, brief 

And fleeting vision ! Soon on Salem's height 520 

Gaunt altars rose to every hideous god. 

And thenceforth, on through weary centuries 

Of vigil, oft the blessed stars appear'd 

As blotted from the very firmament 

Appall'd. What time of Israel's chosen tribes 

Ten, like a loosen'd cliff, crumbled and sank 

Into the surging tide of heathen lauds, 

Who shall relate the scoffs of fiendish mirth, 

That taunted our persistent ministries 

Camping around God's hidden ones ? And when, — 530 

Albeit awhile the sudden blast of death, 

As Michael waved his keen far-reaching sword 

Over the armies of Sennacherib, 

Shielded the royal city, — when at last 

The cup of Israel's wickedness was full, 

And Asshur, trampling on Jerusalem, 

Led forth her trembling prisoners to hang 

Their harps beside the proud Euphrates' banks, 

Then shouts of nearer victory fill'd the air, 

And Satan's firmamental kingdom rang 540 

With praises of their leader's matchless craft, 



VI.] THE EMPIRE OF DARKNESS. 203 

And loudly-mutter'd blasphemies of Him 
Whose patience they misreckon'd impotence. 

" So dream'd they dreams, which nothing but the 
strains, 
Breathed from the solemn harp of prophecy, 
Disturb'd ; — mysterious harpings on the wind, 
Not now first mingling with the jarring sounds 
Of earth and time, for they had ever rung, 
Since Enoch laid his hand upon the chords, 
Echoes of heavenly voices in faith's ear, 550 

Still clearest in the hour of sorest need, 
But never more distinct than now. 

" The sun 
Still couch'd unrisen beneath the dawning hills, 
But far and wide the heavens were all aglow 
With saffron lights and hues of roseate pearl, 
Shedding upon the towers of Babylon, 
Its massive walls, and gates of burnish'd brass, 
And gardens in the golden morn suspense, 
Nor least upon the river's amber waves, 
A thousand changeful splendors. On a roof 5f»0 

Beneath the open sky a young man lay 
And slept ; serene his brow ; and on his face 
Even in his sleep a smile of holy joy 
Play'd inexpressible, which, when he rose 
With morning from his calm unruffled couch, 
Flow'd from his lips in praise. Gabriel and I 
Had watcli'd his slumbers, and, so order'd, hung 



204 THE EMPIRE OF DARKNESS. [BOOK 

On his unfaltering steps, as through the ranks 

Of courtiers, follow'd by a trembling group 

Of magi, sorcerers, astrologers, 570 

Who gazed on him incredulous, he pass'd, 

And calmly faced his monarch's baffled pride. 

And as, instructed by the Spirit of God, 

He in their audience (nor in theirs alone) 

Renew'd the faded image, excellent 

In brightness and in stature terrible ; 

And then, as God's ambassador, reveal'd 

The import of the head of gold, the breast 

Of silver, and the loins of brass, and legs 

Of iron and of miry clay compact, 580 

Portending ruin, till a mystic stone, 

Quarried and fashion'd by no human hand, 

Smote that colossal idol, which straightway 

Crumbled to dust and vanish'd as the chaff 

Driven idly from the summer threshing-floor, 

The while that rock grew vaster and more vast, 

A mountain whose circumference was earth. 

And whose eternal canopy the heaven ; 

As thus that youthful seer, dauntless in heart 

And mien, cast his prophetic eye of fire 500 

Athwart the changes of tumultuous time, 

And <n the illimitable distance saw 

Eternal love triumphant, Gabriel look'd 

On me and smiled, and we refresh'd our fai th 

With strength in mortal weakness perfected. 

Hard by us Baal stood, and Ashtaroth, 

And Moloch, kept in terror by the sword 



VI.] THE EMriRE OF DARKNESS. 205 

That waved in Gabriel's hand ; but oh, the scowl 

Of cruel disappointment on their lip 

And baffled vengeance, till obscure they shrank 600 

To nurture worse designs ; while songs of praise, 

Flowing spontaneously from angel harps, 

Were wafted to the ear of God in heaven. 

" Nor learn'd we less of faith's omnipotence, 
When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego 
Chose for their dying couch the fiery kiln, 
Rather than vile prostration to the god 
Chaldea's monarch, brooding o'er his dream, 
Not uninspired by Belus, rear'd aloof 
On Dura's sultry plain, finding amid 610 

Those thousand forked tongues of hungry flame 
An unsuspected Paradise more sweet, 
Than sinless Adam when he walk'd with God 
In Eden. But enough, brother, thou knowest 
All that befell that haughty monarch driven 
From palace halls with flocks and herds to graze, 
A bitter school. Thou knowest the weary lapse 
Of those predestined threescore years and ten 
Of Israel's woe and Babylonia's pride, 
Even to their latest bourn, that impious feast 62C 

By those brief characters of doom perplex'd, 
When Persia grasp'd the sceptre Asshur dropp'd. 
Thy heart has been with Daniel in the den 
Of lions. I was by his side that night. 
And when he wrote upon his mystic scroll 
The visions of his lonely bed, wherein 



206 THE EMPIRE OF DARKNESS. [BOOK 

Earth's proudest realms as ravenous beasts appear'd, 

Assyria, Persia, Macedon, and last 

One diverse from all others, iron-tooth'd, 

Ten-horn'd, dreadful and strong exceedingly, 630 

Far ranging o'er the desolated world, 

Till earthly thrones all sank in ruinous heaps 

Before the Ancient of eternal days, 

I saw the joyous eloquence, that flash'd 

From that lone prophet's eye undimm'd by age, 

And lighted up his wrinkled countenance 

With glories from the everlasting hills. 

Nor was I absent, when his prevalent prayer 

Clomb to the highest heavens, and Gabriel came, 

Descending with the speed of seraphim, 640 

The herald of evangel grace, though link'd 

With mystic times and numbers, seventy sevens; 

Nor wholly clear nor dark, faith's chosen light. 

And I was there what time a mightier One 

Than Gabriel, having striven, self-limited, 

With Persia's guardian fiend three weeks of days, 

Till Michael sped, permitted, to his aid, 

Beside the crystal waves of Hiddekel 

Reveal'd His glory and the scroll of time 

Till time should be no more. 650 

" The light of heaven 
Soon faded, and the transitory rent 
Through which it stream'd was block'd with denser 

cloud : 
But it had lit imperishable hopes 



VI.] THE EMITRE OF DARKNESS. 207 

In human hearts and ours. How could we faint, 
Or how despond, when men of flesh and blood, 
Weaker than we in power bat strong in prayer, 
Wrestled and wrought and vanquish'd? Oft herein 
They minister'd to us as we to them. 

•* Without us haply human faith had fail'd, 
Without them ours. For still the gloom increased. 660 
What though a band of stricken fugitives 
Return'd to lorn Jerusalem and built 
Their wall and temple gates in troublous times ; 
What though in faded splendor Judah held 
His trembling sceptre ; darkness wrapt the earth. 
Apollyon, Baalim, Beelzebub, 
Bel, Dagon, Chemosh, Nisroch, Arioch, 
Merodach, Moloch, these and countless more, 
With hosts of spirits subordinate to each, 
They to their princedoms, these to Satan bound, 670 
Ranged in imperious tyranny abroad, 
And chose their various realms as liked them best, 
And parcell'd out the kingdoms of the world 
Amongst them as their rightful heritage. 
Each region had its dynasty of gods : 
Primeval Asshur hers, whose altars blazed 
Upon the plains of Shinar : Persia hers, 
Beside her founts of liquid fire : and where 
The mighty Indus rolls its tide of wealth, 
Innumerable shrines, sparkling with gems, 680 

Studded the odorous banks. But none like Greece 
Could boast its names of graceful deities 



208 THE EMPIRE OP DARKNESS. [BOOK 

For every fountain, and for every breeze, 

For every stream, and wood, and ocean shore, 

For night and day, for sunshine, and for storm, 

For every changeful phase of Nature's moods, 

For every passion of the human heart, 

For wine, for war, for laughter, and for tears, 

For nuptial dances, and for funeral dirge, 

For all things from the cradle to the grave 690 

And past the grave in Hades, — over all 

Were gods, or goddesses, or demigods, 

Sylphs, nymphs, fawns, muses, graces president ; 

For here the sevenfold power of Ashtaroth, 

Encamping with his limitary hosts, 

First fix'd his seat, in after years removed 

Where Tiber rolls beneath the walls of Rome. 

" Amongst them Satan ranged pre-eminent, 
Incessant ; and, denied ubiquity, 

Yet seem'd the more to multiply himself, 700 

And almost with the speed of thought to be 
(For narrow is the breadth of earth to spirits 
Accustom'd to celestial latitudes) 
Where most the struggle lack'd his puissant arm, 
Or archangelic counsel. Nor the less, 
When to the heaven of heavens the sons of God 
Were summon'd, sate he on his ducal throne. 
Arch-adversary was his name, well earn'd ; 
And well by all his ministers of state 
And legions seconded. 710 



VI.] THE EMPIRE OF DARKNESS. 209 

" Yet deem not we 
On God's behalf were idle. O'er the world 
Death reign'd, but underneath its sable shroud 
Life wrought in secret, as serenest gems 
In darkest caverns oft are found anneal'd, 
Crystalline amethysts, or roseate quartz, 
The pure quintessence of incumbent rocks 
Distill'd by extinct fires. And it was ours 
To watch these priceless jewels carved and set 
As finish'd, in that diadem of glory, 
Wherewith in fulness of predestined time 720 

Messiah shall appear for ever crown'd." 



END OP THE SIXTH BOOK. 



14 




Book Sefatttfj. 



REDEMPTION. 



As one, who having climb'd the livelong day, 
Not unaccompanied by friendly step£, 
From the rock-girdled marge of gay Lucerne 
By Altorf s memorable walls, and glens 
Through which the headlong Reuss rushes amain. 
Scarce under skyey Hospenthal one hour 
Sojourning, stands at last with weary feet 
Upon the summit of Saint Gotthard's wilds, 
And sees the intricate ravines, that slope 
Down to the sunny vales of Italy, 
And smiles to see them, yet before he wends 
Along the young Ticino's purling brook, 
Pauses, and with inquisitive retrospect 
Speaks with the toilworn comrade by his side 
Of defiles they have pass'd to right and left, 
And chasms, and rainbow-haunted cataracts, 



10 



REDEMPTION. 211 

And vistas through the dawning hills, the which 

Their onwaid track forbade their steps explore ; — 

So paused Oriel, my guardian, here. And long 

We spake of sacred stories, such as oft 20 

In pilgrim days I loved to meditate, 

Now by his transitory words illumed 

With unsuspected glory: of Jacob's dream 

Scaling the heavens, and built of things that are ; 

Of those funereal rites on Pisgah's brow, 

When Michael in Jehovah's name rebuked 

The daring prince of hell ; of that Arch-fiend 

Repairing with the other sons of God 

To heaven's high festivals, ere leave obtain'd 

To breathe disaster and eclipse of joy SO 

Upon the patriarch in the land of Uz ; 

Of David moved by him in evil hour 

To count the tribes of Israel ; of the strife 

On Carmel's rocky sides, when Baalim, 

By bloody suj^plications importuned, 

Raved all in vain to answer ; of the car, 

That fiery car by fiery chargers drawn, 

Which stooping o'er the Jordan's wilderness 

Wafted Elijah to the rest of God ; 

Of that false emissary, who assumed 40 

To lure forth Ahab to the field of doom ; 

Of Joshua, son of Josedech, withstood 

By Satan, but upheld by Satan's Lord ; — 

Of these and other marvels, when the veil 

Was rent betwixt the things unseen and seen, 

Shedding bright beams of glory on the earth 



212 REDEMPTION. [BOOK 

What time the clouds were darkest, for a while 

We communed, till my heart afire with hope 

Besought him to resume where last he left, 

Upon the extreme verge of better days, 50 

Time's awful drama, which he thus vouchsafed : 

"One night, when night was listening for the dawn, 
Aloof upon the brow of Olivet 
I gazed on sleeping Salem. In the East 
Flush'd a faint streak of pearl : the distant hills 
Slumber'd in shadow, and the vales in mist : 
When haply prompted by the hour, or thoughts 
Of loftier vigilance, for many signs 
In heaven and earth as in the middle air 
Of late had quicken'd us to keener guard, 60 

Musing I utter'd half unconsciously 
The prophet's words, 'Watchman, what of the night?* 

il Sudden I heard the rush of angel wings, 
And Gabriel stood beside me, saying, * Brother, 
The morning cometh, and the night : beyond 
All is unclouded everlasting day. 
This very hour the Sun of Righteousness 
Peers o'er the horizon. Virgin-born to-night 
Within the crowded gates of Bethlehem 
A Babe, who owns no human sire, is lying 70 

Upon His mother's bosom. It was mine, 
Some space agone, to tell that lowly maid 
Of David sprung, in David's house betrothed. 
The awful secret of Messiah's birth, 



711.] REDEMPTION. 213 

The advent of the Holy Quickening Spirit, 

The overshadowing Power of the Most High, 

Herself the chosen vessel ; and to watch 

The deepening blush of childlike innocence, 

As slowly to herself she realized 

The bliss immense vouchsafed her, not unmix'd 6[) 

With bitter anguish from a faithless world. 

It has been mine to guard her low estate, 

As mouth by month within her virgin womb 

She bore the promise of her Lord. Nor now, 

Albeit the mystery of mysteries, 

For which eternity has waited, dawns, 

Is the veil rent in twain. The tree of life 

Must strike its roots in secret in the earth : 

The well-spring gush from hidden depths. Not all 

Heaven's radiant ministries, but spirits elect 90 

As yet are advertised, the Son of God 

Incarnate tabernacles among men : 

Far less the powers of darkness, now elate, 

Finding the rigid interdict relax'd, 

Or rather with less pains transgress'd, that fenced 

The bodies of their slaves from violence. 

Demons possess demoniacs : thou hast seen 

Their victims toss'd and driven by fiends malign 

To worse than frenzy : and on this intent 

For the most part the myriads of the damn'd 100 

Heed not this fateful hour. Far otherwise 

Their leader and his fallen thrones are fill'd 

With torment and remorseless fear, and scheme 

Their uttermost to thwart Eternal Love : 



214 REDEMPTION. [BOOK 

Which work to counterwork is ours. But now 

Come, brother, let us hasten where the tryst 

Of friends awaits us on the grassy slopes 

Of Bethlehem, and, as is meet, announce 

Messiah's humble birth to humble men, 

The shepherds, who there hold nocturnal watch.' 110 

" So swifter than the eagle's flight we flew 
Over the shadowy landscape, and there found, 
As he had said, a heavenly cohort arm'd, 
And keeping by command that region free 
From footstep or from wing unblest. Forthwith 
Gabriel diffused unwonted lustre round, 
And in the glory of that light appear'd, 
Though softening all the terrors of his brow, 
Not less than heaven's elect ambassador, 
Heralding tidings of eternal joy ; — 120 

Which, even as he utter 'd, all the band 
Of angels, suddenly apparent, caught 
And set to music of seraphic harps, 
Pure crystal symphonies of joy and love, 
Until the waves of Hallelujah moved 
The orient clouds, and gathering strength rang out 
Among the golden stars, and travelling on 
Held for a space the tongues of cherubim 
Mute for delight before the throne of God. 

" Soon from that throne, through clouds of glory 
stealing, 130 

The whispers of the Spirit of God were heard ; 



VII. J REDEMPTION. 215 

And Suriel moving at that still small voice 

Took of the lamps, that ever blaze beside 

The altar of celestial frankincense, 

Symbols of love enkindling endless praise, 

And from that lucid sphere descending sloped 

His course to earth, where on the nightly plain 

Chaldea's watchers read the starry heavens ; 

And holding in his hand that torch, which seem'd 

As if a planet brighter than its peers 140 

Had wander'd from its path, viewless himself, 

Allured their steps, whose minds were taught of God, 

Until their weary pilgrimage at last 

Was ended with unutterable joy 

Before the Royal Babe of Bethlehem. 

'* Why should I tell thee what thou know'st ? Plis 
flight 
To Egypt's house of bondage ; and return 
'Neath angel wings to lowly Nazareth ? 
No palace home was His. No menials nursed 
His childhood. Mary kept her secret close, 15U 

Or only breathed thereof in prayer to God, 
Yet watch'd her gentle meditative Child, 
Unlike yet like His brethren (for they err 
Who deem her firstborn Son her only one), 
With love beyond a mother's. Holiness 
Breathed in His meek aspect. No passion wrought 
To fret His bosom. Never a word of guile 
Sullied His lips. Pure, harmless, undefiled, 
He loved of all things best to be alone. 



216 REDEMPTION. [BOOK 

And oft would hie Hiin to the fields, and there 160 

Ponder and pray. And, when the Sabbath came, 

Such gleams of glory in the synagogue 

Play'd on His blessed countenance, as if 

Conversing with the Invisible, mouth to mouth, 

That I have seen His virgin mother's eyes 

Fix'd on Him, till they flow'd with tears of joy. 

But chiefly, when the yearly festivals 

Drew them to Zion, a mysterious awe, 

A child's most tender awe, the awe of love, 

Seem'd to dilate His swelling breast, the while 170 

He trod, as One at home, His Father's courts. 

u Years pass'd; and still He grew in grace: yet still 
His brethren knew Him not. His perfect love 
Disturb'd them ; and they oftener chose consort 
With those, whose goodness was not all unstain'd. 
They quail'd before His gentleness. But when 
Their father sank beneath the weight of years, 
As sinks the sun behind the autumn hills, 
Then in that darken'd home the Light of Light 
Diffused its softest radiance. He it was, 18C 

Who bound up with the tenderest balms of love 
His mother's bleeding heart ; who mix'd His tears 
With those that chased adown His sisters' cheeks, 
Till sorrow's self grew calm ; and He, who first 
Summon'd His brethren to the needful toil, 
Toil shared by Him, their common heritage. 
And when He spake with such unfaltering faith 
Of that celestial Paradise, wherein 



VII.] REDEMPTION. 217 

Their father now was walking, even as One 
Familiar with its living founts and fruits, 190 

The bitterness of grief was gone, and death's 
, Dark portal was the golden gate of life. 



" But if they saw and marvell'd, how with us 
Who knew Him what He was, the Son of God ? 
Brother, our hearts were bow'd within us. Pride, 
That deadliest upas, that sought cast its shade 
Over angelic natures though elect, 
Wither'd before that wondrous spectacle. 
It was not only grace we saw, but grace 
That fail'd not in a world of selfishness ; 200 

Nor only light, but light in poisonous air 
Miraculously burning, self-sustain'd ; 
Nor faith alone, but faith, emptying itself, 
Itself to strengthen in Another's might ; 
Self-limited Omnipotence, that deign'd, 
Weak even as man is weak, to lean on God. 
Messiah praying : — brother, I have watch'd 
His lips moving, until my very soul 
Clave to Him with intensity of love ; 
And heard Him plead for those He came to save, 210 
Until of all hard tasks the hardest seem'd 
Not to go trumpet-tongued, and summon all 
To fall and worship at His sacred feet. 

" But now His time was come : His herald, John, 
Who, like Elias, in the wilderness 
Had nursod his kin^lv soul to kinsflv deeds 



218 REDEMPTION. [ BOOK 

Heroic, came, the voice before the Word, 
Crying, ' Repent, the kingdom is at hand.' 
God's Spirit echoed the warning, and the cry- 
Struck sharp on human hearts, like steel on flint : 220 
And crowds, their sins bewailing, throng'd the man 
Whose hand explored the secret womb of thought. 
And in whose dreadless eye eternity 
Glared upon time. Men ask'd men, ' Is there space 
To flee the wrath to come ?' Jerusalem 
Hurried to Jordan. Ah, what deeds of wrong 
Lips, counted by their fellows pure as babes, 
Flung there upon the startled winds ! What filth 
Was wash'd away from penitential hearts 
In that baptismal stream ! But now, behold, 280 

To our amaze among the crowds we saw 
The spotless Son of Mary. John, abash'd, 
Shrank from the suit He urged. But He refused 
Refusal. And, as from the shallow ford 
Returning on the bank He knelt in prayer, 
Lo, on a sudden the blue heavens were rent, 
Unfolding to the very throne of God, 
And (time and space subjected now to love) 
The Spirit descending in corporeal shape, 
Dove-like alighted on His sacred head, 240 

A Dove of plumage whiter than the light : 
Andfiom the depths of glory came the Voice 
Of the Eternal Father, « This is He, 
My well-beloved, My Son, My soul's delight.' 
This voice celestial, this celestial form, 
Alone of all those thronging multitudes 



VII.] REDEMPTION. 219 

John heard and saw ; while Gabriel with his hosts 
Shielded the spot from hell's malignant thrones, 
"Who pined in vain, confounded auditors 
Of words which knell'd their doom. But straight their 
prince, 250 

Like some great warlike chief repulsed, who makes 
His failure instant cause for fresh assaults 
Or deadlier stratagems, recall'd his peers 
To their dark council chamber wrapt in clouds, 
Whence issuing after long consult, a smile 
Of baleful hope upon his faded brow, 
He sought the designated Son of God. 

" Meanwhile from Jordan's farther banks the Christ, 
"With His own thoughts communing, thoughts im- 

pregn'd 
And glorified by the incumbent Spirit, 260 

Which in His sevenfold plenitude of grace, 
Life, light, power, wisdom, counsel, fear, and love, 
Immeasurable on Him abode, was led 
Eastward towards the wilds of Araby. 
Hour after hour He walk'd lonely, nor felt 
Or weariness or want : such bursting hopes 
Of His unparallel'd emprise surcharged 
His bosom. And, when nightfall unawares 
Came down upon the rocky wilderness, 
He, like the solitary Jacob, laid 270 

His head upon a stone and slept : but dreams 
Diviner than the pilgrim patriarch saw 
Visited His bleak couch, we camping near 



220 REDEMPTION. [BOOK 

And, when the morning broke, He rose refresh'd, 

His first thoughts like the fragrant incense borne 

Up to His Father's presence. Onward still, 

As One guided invisibly, He press'd, 

Nor ate nor hunger'd. Thus a second day 

Pass'd, and a third; till Nebo's barren cliffs 

And rugged precipices barr'd in front 280 

His prospect. But, as night again descended. 

And on a stony pillow as before 

Messiah sought repose, we were aware 

Of change and peril imminent. Thick clouds, 

Dragging their vaporous skirts along the hills, 

Blotted the stars ; and distant thunders roused 

The beasts of rapine from their lairs, whose roar 

Seem'd ever nearer on the moaning blast. 

The darkness was not all of earth : wing'd forms 

Unhallow'd pass'd us in the thickening gloom. 290 

We watch'd in doubt, unweeting what designs 

The foe was hatching. But, when morn approach'd, 

And Jesus through the twilight walk'd abroad, 

Far other visions than the last appear'd 

To' have haunted His night hours. His calm aspect 

Was troubled; and in place of joy His eye 

Flash'd with the wrath of tempted innocence 

Indignant. Not the brooding wintry storm, 

That beat in gusts upon His sacred head, 

Vex'd Him whose spirit was swept with fiercer winds ; 

Nor yet the lion's baffled growl, that slunk 301 

From Gabriel's sword into the tangled brake ; 

Nor pangs of hunger, for in that stern strife 



VII.] REDEMPTION. 221 

He felt them not. But now the Arch-fiend wove 

His subtlest machinations, flinging shafts 

Incessant of all racking doubts and fears, 

The tempter wielding archangelic powers, 

The Tempted in weak human flesh enshrined. 

Night came, but night was terrible as day ; 

And sleep, but sleep was worse than waking thoughts : 

Nor one day only, nor yet seven, nor seven 311 

Twice told or thrice ; but forty days and nights 

That conflict inexpressible was waged, 

No avenue of reason unassail'd, 

No bolt from that wide quiver's mouth unshot . 

All, all in vain. Then inly to himself 

The devil mutter'd, as I caught the words, 

* My ghostly weapons fail, let sight and sense 

Avail me, as in Eden/ — and relax'd 

His onset. 320 

" Then it was, the urgent stress 
Of battle interrupted, hunger seized 
The fainting Saviour. And His foe and ours, 
No longer unapparent, what remain'd 
Of his original lustre re-assumed, 
And in his proper shape approach'd, his aim 
Dissembling. ' If Thou art the Son of God, — 
Nor other can I deem Thee, who hast foil'd 
My uttermost attempt, — our duel now 
Is ended. I confess discomfiture. 

One only proof I ask, not for myself 330 

Who know Thee, but for those who know Thee not, 



222 REDEMPTION. [BOOK 

One act as innocent in Thee to grant 
As it is reasonable in me to crave ; 
Nay further, necessary for Thy wants, 
"Who here wilt perish in the wilderness. 
Change by Thy word this rocky stone to bread. 
Vouchsafe me this ; and henceforth I and mine 
Will leave Thee undisturb'd, the Christ of God. 

*' So glozed the tempter. But the Son of Man, 
As man clad in the panoply of faith, 340 

Drew from its sheath the sharp sword of the Spirit, 
And answer'd, * It is written, Man shall live 
Not by bread only, but by every word 
Spoken by God.' And Satan shrank abash'd : 
For on these very rocks, when bread was not, 
The food of angels, at His voice who spake, 
Had fallen round the tents of Israel. 

" But from the deserts now the spirit of evil, 
God's Spirit permitting, led the Saviour forth 
Invisible, and with speed miraculous 350 

Brought Him to Salem's sanctuary sublime, 
Where over Kedron's vale the dizzy porch 
O'erhung the valley. It was then the feast 
Of tabernacles, and the crowds were spread 
Like aloes by the rivers far beneath, 
While others from Siloah's fountain fetch'd 
The mystic water in a golden ewer, 
And pour'd it in the temple forth with songs 
Of Hallelujah and exuberant joy. 



VII.] REDEMPTION. 223 

There, as they stood upon the utmost ridge, 360 

Thus spake the tempter — ' Be it as Thou sayest : 

Thy faith forbids Thee work a work to still 

The cravings of Thy mortal need. For Thee, 

Whether by famine or by violence, 

Death has no terrors. Be it so. But now, 

Not for Thyself, but for Thy chosen race 

I ask Thee, show Thyself the Son of God. 

Cast Thyself down from hence. Angels of light, 

Thou knowest, are about Thee : they will bear, 

As promised in the oracles of truth, 37u 

Thee in their hands. I meanwhile will direct 

All eyes upon this lofty battlement ; 

And joyful Israel shall behold her Prince 

Descending with His radiant ministries 

About Him, and shall crown Thee, as foretold, 

The Son of David upon David's throne/ 

" Messiah answer'd, — ' It is written again, 
Thou shalt not dare to tempt the Lord thy God.' 
Brief words but keen : btneath whose subtle edge 
The devil writhed in anguish. But yet one, 380 

One last and damnable assault femain'd ; 
And from the holy city quickly' he bore 
The Saviour to that mountain peak, which look'd 
Far over His late solitary watch, 
Whence Moses, ere he fell on sleep, beheld 
The hills and valleys of the land, with milk 
And honey flowing, to the western sea 
And goodly Lebanon. But now (such skill 



224 REDEMPTION. [BOOK 

That mighty regent of the air had learn'd) 

Whether by optical illusion wrought, 390 

Like some mirage of cataracts and lakes 

And gardens in Arabia's barren sands, 

Or suns in mockery flushing Zembla's snows, 

Refraction on refraction multiplied, — 

Or haply' air pictures cunningly disposed 

Within the eye's transparent microcosm, — 

The mode I know not — but the dasdal earth 

With all its mighty realms from pole to pole, 

Illumed with sudden supernatural light, 

Seem'd lying, kindreds, peoples, nations, tongues, 400 

A gorgeous panorama, scene on scene 

Reflecting splendor, at Messiah's feet, 

And in the twinkling of an eye condensed 

The glories and the miseries of man, 

As in a focus, on His startled soul, 

Moving compassion and amaze at once. 

* Then spake again the tempter, ' Not for Thee, 
Whose meat it is to do Thy Father's will, 
Nor yet for Israel, far too scant a field 
For Thy illimitable sovereign schemes 410 

Of goodness, do I now prefer request ; 
But for the world, the universal world, 
To me committed, as Thou know'st, by One 
Who never of His words or deeds repents : — 
Let these four thousand years of wreck and ruin 
Bear witness. I had fondly thought to hold 
This sceptre as mine own. But let it pass. 



VII.] REDEMPTION. 225 

Rather than wage interminable war, 
I yield Thee my dominion. I shall find 
Some other orb untenanted as yet, 420 

Whereon to fix my throne. And for the gift, 
Vouchsafed me first, mine therefore to restore, 
This, coveted inheritance, I ask 
But one brief passing act of homage done, 
One transient recognition whence Thou owest 
Thy kingdom. At my feet receive the boon. 
Thou shrinkest ? Why not? I have seen Thee bow 
To earthly rulers, — by Thy mother's side 
Have seen Thee kneeling. Having stoop'd so low, 
Stoop once again to less indignity 430 

By far than prophecy assigns Thee. Thou 
Already' hast suffer'd much ; Thy gentle spirit 
Amongst ungentle children ; Thy pure youth 
Alien amongst impure ; Thy ripening faith 
Exotic in a faithless world ; but all 
Is nothing, less than nothing, to the doom 
Before Thee chronicled in scrolls of fate, 
If Thou refuse my offer. Thou wilt stretch 
Thy weary hands, loaden with gifts of life, 
To disobedient and gainsaying men : 440 

Thine own will not receive Thee : cruel craft 
Will dog Thy footsteps : till Thou sink'st at last 
Under distress, dismay, derision, death. 
What, death for Thee, the peerless Prince of life ? 
Truly, though I have done fell deeds, — in war 
All things are lawful, — I, though damn'd should grieve 
To see death's ghastly weapon pierce Thy heart. 
15 



226 REDEMPTION. [bOOK 

My Liege, to Thee I owe my being : what 

Of great I am is Thine : why then abhor 

In me to honor Thy own workmanship ? 450 

Fear not, though I have woven countless snares, 

And tangled countless hearts, angels and men, 

With Thee all snares were useless ; and I swear, 

In this my offer lurks nor lure nor guile : 

One insignificant act of homage paid, 

And I retire, and with me all my hosts, 

From earth and earth's precincts. Sole sovereign here 

May'st Thou achieve Thy God-like enterprise, 

Thy Good Spirit recreate this shatter'd world, 

And earth re-echo Thy Great Father's name. 4H0 

Nor ever again will I disturb Thy realm : 

I have my gloomy bodings, even as Thou, 

What may ensue, thus struggling without end : 

Weary of horrid war, I long for peace. 

One little act, and I resign Thee all.' 

" Messiah's words anticipate our thoughts, 
His hand still cleaving to the two-edged sword, 
* Hence, Satan : it is written, Thou shalt serve 
The Lord thy God, and worship only Him.' 
And by the lightning of the Saviour's eye, 470 

Bent full upon the Adversary, we saw 
His desperate repulse. The naked truth 
Had rived his bosom. Gnashing with remorse. 
Slowly, reluctantly, he sank, as sinks 
The angry tide from off a lighthouse rock, 
Which it has drench'd in blinding spray and foam. 



VII.] REDEMPTION. 227 

Leaving the light unscathed. And it was ours 

To cluster round that humble Victor's feet, 

And offer fruitage from the vines of heaven, 

And water from the rivulets of life, 480 

And blossoms gather'd on their marge ; from me 

He took with smiles a flower of amaranth — 

(As Oriel spake, a blush of deeper rose 

Crimson'd his cheek at the remember'd joy) — 

Yea, and to tender sympathies more sweet 

Than flowers, or fruit, or fountains gushing life, 

Wherewith refresh'd ere long Messiah bent 

His footsteps to the plains of Galilee. 

" Full of the Spirit He came : His sinless powers 
All quicken'd to the uttermost of man : 400 

His faith transparent without clouds : His love. 
Clear radiance on the altar of His heart, 
Fire without smoke of darkness: prophecies 
Of everlasting joy kindling His soul : 
Pure perfect Manhood. We had often wept 
Tears of delight to see celestial grace 
Struggling and triumphing in weakness ; but 
Some stains had ever with the saintliest saints 
Blotted the story of their life. What need 
To speak of Noah, and of Abraham, 500 

Of Moses, David, Hezekiah, Job, 
Who sometime trail'd their garments on the earth, 
Though whiter now than snow ? But here was One 
Faultless though compass'd with infirmity, 
In human weakness sinless, who had stoop'd 



228 REDEMPTION. [BOOK 

Lower than angelhood in might, but dwarf d 

In uncreated goodness infinite 

The loftiest seraphim : no stern recluse, 

As His forerunner ; but the Guest and Friend 

Of all who sought Him, mingling with all life 510 

To breathe His holiness on all. No film 

Obscured His spotless lustre. From His lips 

Truth limpid without error flow'd. Disease 

Fled from His touch. Pain heard Him, and was not. 

Despair smiled in His presence. Devils knew, 

And trembled. In the omnipotence of faith 

Unintermittent, indefectible, 

Leaning upon His Father's might, He bent 

All nature to His will. The tempest sank, 

He whispering, into waveless calm. The bread, 52U 

Given from His hands, fed thousands and to spare. 

The stormy waters, as the solid rock, 

Were pavement for His footstep. Death itself 

With vain reluctancies yielded its prey 

To the stern mandate of the Prince of life. 

" Not that these things are hid from thee : but, brother, 
None but an angel can methinks conceive 
What angels felt, as over Him they stoop'd 
Lost in adoring contemplation. Oft 
Has Gabriel call'd me to his side in awe 630 

At His Divine humility ; which once, 
Once only in His earthly pilgrimage, 
Suffer'd the shrouded glory to escape 
Its fleshly veil. 



VH.] REDEMPTION. 229 

" Once only, on the crest 
Of snowy Hermon as He knelt in prayer, 
His chosen witnesses beheld His form 
Apparell'd in its own celestial light, 
More dazzling than the snows on which it shone : 
When Michael, who on Satan's fall assumed 
At God's command the hierarchal primacy, 540 

The same who guarded Moses' funeral rites 
And bore Elijah in God's chariot home, 
Brought them, one bodiless, embodied one, 
From Paradise before the other dead, 
To commune with their Lord on His decease 
Now nigh at hand. Then the Shekinah cloud 
Descending, wrapt them in its radiant folds, 
And from its excellent glory came a Voice 
* This is My Son Beloved, hear ye Him/ 

" This Voice we heard, nor we alone who knelt 550 
Near as permitted : fiendish auditors 
Beyond us, in the dusky air suspense, 
Heard it, and quaked ;n silence : Satan heard 
Confounded, and now, desperate of fraud, 
Seem'd only' intent to deal the cruellest bruise 
Immedicable on his Victim's heel, 
His Victor soon. Ranging abroad he stirr'd 
The hosts of darkness to maligner hate, 
Saying, Now was the hinge of battle, now 
The fated hour of doom : one effort more, 5(10 

And earth, their destined heritage, was theirs. 
Then round him oln^tor'd. gloomy body-guard. 



230 REDEMPTION. [BOOK 

His peers, into whose venomous breasts he fused 

Fresh venom, urging some to wreak worse ill 

On their demoniac slaves, others to wind 

Their coils of envy around priestly hearts, 

And others in the path of ruthless men 

To dig quick pitfalls of insensate pride : 

Himself, with Mammon for his minister, 

Tracking the Saviour's steps, and beckoning on, 570 

With lures of miserable gold, a wretch 

Who sprang well pleased into his cursed embrace, 

Judas, the heir of everlasting shame. 

*" Once he was cow'd ; when seated with his mates 
In council (such were daily now convened) 
Quick tidings reach'd him, that his fiercest spirits 
Quail'd at the name of Jesus breathed in faith 
By humblest lips. Instantly, whether rage 
O'ermaster'd him, or shadowing fear surprised, 
Down like a meteor or a lightning flash 580 

From that aerial height he sank, he fell, — 
Not unobserved by Him whose piercing Eye, 
Scanning the ages, in that lapse beheld 
A presage of his endless fall from heaven 
To the abysmal pit. But Satan soon, 
Collecting his dejected legions, cried, 
The while he spat defiance on his Lord, 
' Do Thou Thy worst : Thou hast not tasted ours ' — 
And without further cause of hate pursued 
His drear deliberations, boding death. 59<i 



VII."| REDEMPTION. 231 

" The hour was almost come. Six days had pass'd, 
Since from the lonely Ephraim the Lord 
Had sought the house He loved at Bethany, 
Where Martha and her sister dwelt, and he, 
Whose disembodied spirit we some time kept 
LuU'd by the wafting of angelic wings, 
As in a dream of undefined delight, 
Until the Word recall'd him : six brief days, 
But every moment big with destiny : 
The Sabbath of unbroken pea*ce and prayer : GOO 

That evening, — was it much for her, whose heart 
Was crush'd, to crush the alabaster vase ? — 
Mary, with love's foreboding instinct, pour'd 
The precious myrrh upon His head and feet, 
And wiped them with her rich dishevell'd hair. 
The midnight watches spent with God : the ride 
Of lowly triumph dash'd with tears, and songs 
Woven with sighs, into Jerusalem ; 
The weary Wayfarer's return afoot 
Over the ridge of wooded Olivet 610 

At nightfall ; the surprise of early dawn 
Startling His orisons ; the lonely curse, 
Pregnant with gracious warning, which His lips 
Pronounced ; the sanctuary cleansed anew ; 
The nightly calm ; the morrow's stern contest 
With stubborn hearts, sheathed in dark unbelief 
Or darker superstition, — crystal truth 
Confuting guile, pure love predicting woes 
Upon impure malignity ; the cry 
1 We would see Jesus/ breathed by Gentile lips, 620 



232 REDEMPTION. |_ BOOK 

While on His prescient troubled soul there fell 

The first dark shadows of the vale of death, 

Rugged with tempest ; the suspended prayer, 

Whose dread alternative was death or life, 

Which rested ' Father, glorify Thy name ; ' 

The Voice responsive from the Throne, which fill'd 

The hearts of prostrate seraphim with awe, 

But fell unheeded upon mortal ears ; 

Until the Lord o' the temple, not before 

He made the widow's heart to sing for joy, 630 

Forsook His house. As once Ezekiel saw 

The symbol of His awful Presence pause 

Reluctant o'er the threshold, cherub-borne, 

And o'er the city brood like guardian lire, 

And move, and rest upon the hill that lies 

Fronting the dawn, — so then on Olivet 

The weary Saviour rested and forecast 

The anguish coming on Jerusalem, 

The birth-pangs of evangel life, nor left 

That mountain's brow, nor limited the range 64n 

Of His prophetic vision, till He spake 

Of His great Advent in the clouds of Heaven. 

One day of calm seclusion ; and a night 

And morning all unvex'd, albeit the powers 

Of evil throng'd the air ; but, as the sun 

Swerved westward, Jesus, with the Twelve, set forth 

Towards the city which He loved, the while 

We hung around their footsteps, till they sate 

In silent thought around the Paschal board. 



VII,] REDEMPTION. 233 

" Thou knowest all. But when the Son of God, 650 
Equal Assessor of the Father's throne, 
Author and Heir of all things, girt Himself, 
Stoop'd, and the Servant of His servants, wash'd 
Their feet, we gazed upon the awful scene 
In terrible amazement, till His words 
Recall'd us to the Infinite of love 
Which dwelt within Him and in which He dwelt, 
Making, it seem'd, all other humbleness 
Appear too high, all other love too low. 
But now the Paschal lamb was eaten, now 060 

The wine-cups fill'd and drunk ; when He, who knew 
What was in man, and from that hour look'd forth 
Upon the ages of all time, ordain'd 
Those holy mysteries of bread and wine, 
The banquet of His body and His blood, 
The ever fresh memorials of His death 
To faith instinct with life, and quick with love, 
Symbols of eucharistic sacrifice, 
The sacramental oath of fealty, 
The bond of brotherhood, the pledge of heaven. 670 

" Alas, far different fruit those emblems now 
Wrought in the traitor ! Satan, who ere this 
Had visited his heart nor met repulse, 
Now readily assumed the ready throne, 
And sway'd him willing to his will. The light 
Was torment : and alone he stagger'd forth 
Into the darkness on his dark intent. 



234 REDEMPTION. [BOOK 

" And now from lips, which spake as never man, 
Flow'd words of inexpressible tenderness 
Mingled with power, while more than human love, 680 
Clothing itself in human language, pour'd 
Immortal comforts into mortal hearts, 
Until they overflow'd in tears. And then 
The Great High Priest, with eyes uplift to heaven. 
Standing as if the mystic veil were rent 
Before the seat of mercy, in full view 
Of those He loved, pleaded their cause with One 
Who loved them even as Himself; nor stay'd 
Before He breathed that wonderful ' I will ' 
Which draws His children hither as their work 690 

Is finish'd, spring of countless tears on earth, 
And harvests sown in weeping reap'd in joy. 

" Meanwhile the moon had risen full-orb'd : and they, 
Passing through lights and shadows, bent their steps 
Along the city's now deserted streets 
To Kedron's vale ; over the brook ; where wound 
The mountain path to Olivet : and there 
Upon the right a garden, into which 
They enter'd, olive-set Gethsemane. 

" But wherefore now with trembling lips recall 70c 
That scene of unimaginable woe ? 
The summons of the chosen three ; the moan 
Of mortal anguish from the Lord of life ; 
The vigil, tenderly enjoin'd in vain ; 



VII.] REDEMPTION. 235 

The agony of prayer ; the bloody sweat, 

Wrung from His sacred brow and trembling limbo 

By griefs, which no created mind can sound ; 

The cry, when that exceeding bitter cup 

Sear'd as hot iron His lip ; the human soul 

Quivering, until from the unfolding heavens 710 

A seraph (which of the empyreal thrones 

We knew not, for upon that awful quest 

His mantling wings had too securely veil'd 

His presence and his face perplex'd with tears, 

And his dear Master's look sufficed for praise) 

Descending knelt beside that kneeling Form 

And strengthen'd Him : and through the moonlight 

stole 
The slow, the tremulously balanced words, 
« Not My will, O My Father, Thine be done,' 
Once and again. 

rt The first sharp paroxysm, 720 

As Death infix'd his keen envenom'd sting 
Full in the bosom of Eternal Life, 
Was over. Follow'd now the traitor's kiss ; 
The binding of Omnipotence ; the stroke 
Of Peter, kept from rash repeat by words 
That thrill'd our hearts, and sheathed more swords 

than his 
Each in its scabbard ; the apostles' flight ; 
The hurried Sanhedrim ; the viewless fiends, 
Thronging that hall and plying all their arts 
Ou men abandon'd to their cursed will ; 7H0 



236 REDEMPTION. ["BOOK 

The strength of one, who lean'd upon himself, 

Found wanting ; meantime falsehood bearding Truth ; 

The Lamb of God silent ; the faith which look'd 

From that tribunal to the final bar : 

And, as the cold gray morning struggled through, 

The guiltless Sufferer bound, and rudely dragg'd 

From court to court, abhorr'd, accused, reviled, 

Until that proud contemptuous Roman heart 

Yielded to those infuriate cries, and gave 

The Man of sorrows up to bitter death. 740 

" Woe, brother, woe for those, who against hope 
Ere this in hope persisted ! One of us 
Was summon'd to the wretched traitor's end, 
And by command led forth his damned spirit 
To its own place of doom. But we, the rest, 
Forbidden longer to oppose the worst, 
Could only follow with those weeping few 
Who hung around the footsteps of their Lord, 
Amazed, appall'd. We saw the weary cross 
Laid on His fainting strength, His sacred limbs 750 

Ruthlessly stripp'd, His quivering hands and feet 
Pierced with the cruel nails, while words of love, 
Father, forgive who know not what they do. 
Fell from His agonized lips. And now 
The cross was raised. And there betwixt two thieves 
The Increate Creator of all worlds, 
The Son of the Eternal Father, hung 
Betray'd; bereft, beleaguer'd, crucified. 



VII.] REDEMPTION. 237 

" Thou weepest, brother : well thou may'st. My 
tears 
With thine are flowing. But in that first hour 760 

No angel wept. Sorrow itself was numb'd 
Within us : while the bitter jests and taunts 
Of soldiers, priests, and reckless passers by, 
And curses mutter'd from between clench'd teeth 
Fell ever on the meek Redeemer's ears, 
A pitiless storm. But, when upon His right, 
Gazing upon His superhuman love 
Till the hard stone was crush'd and contrite, one 
Of those who hung beside His cross rebuked 
His fellow, and cried, ' Lord, remember me,' 770 

And, firstfruits of His dying anguish, drew 
Life from that bleeding sacrifice ; and when 
The Saviour, looking on the faithful group 
That cluster'd at His feet, tenderly gave 
His mother to His friend, — the sight unseal'd 
The frozen springs of sorrow, and we wept. 

" Was love stronger than death ? Upon that cross 
They grappled as in final strife. For now 
Hell put forth all its malice, and let loose 
Its gather'd vengeance. All the air was dense 780 

With fiends ; and blackness, blacker than the night 
Which Moses' rod on smitten Egypt drew, 
Dismay'd the heavens : such delegated power 
Had Satan, regent of the air, and all 
The gloomy hosts of darkness at his beck 
Hemming the Saviour round. And, as the load 



238 REDEMPTION. [BOOK 

Immense, intolerable, of the world's sin, 

Casting its dreadful shadow high as heaven, 

Deep as Gehenna, nearer and more near 

Grounded at last upon that Sinless Soul 790 

With all its crushing weight and killing curse, 

Then first, from all eternity then first, 

From His beloved Son the Father's face 

Was slowly' averted, and its light eclipsed ; 

And through the midnight broke the Sufferer's groan, 

Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani ? 

The echo was the mockeries of hell, 

Reverberate in human lips. We heard, 

And shudder'd. Gabriel lean'd on me a space, 

And hid his face within my vesture's folds, 800 

As if the sight were all too terrible 

Even for archangelic faith. But now 

Once more the agonizing Victim moan'd, 

Uttering His anguish in one dreadful plaint, 

I thirst ; His last: for, when the cooling sponge 

Had touch'd His lips, a loud and different cry, 

As if of triumph, It is finish 'd, rang 

Upon our startled ears ; and with a child's 

Confiding tender trustfulness, that breathed 

Father, to Thy hands I commend My spirit, 81C 

He bow'd His head, and yielded up the ghost. 

" Earth quaked. The rocks were rent. The graves 
of saints 
Were open'd. And the temple's mystic veil 
Was riven ; n view of worshippers and priests, 



Vn.] REDEMPTION. 239 

Disclosing things unseen. Ere long the spear 

Open'd the fountain in the Saviour's side, 

And soon that holy tabernacle lay, 

Like a deserted temple, cold and still, 

In Joseph's rock-hewn tomb. But, brother, who 

Of angels can describe what next ensued, 820 

When Jesus breathed His last upon the cross, 

In the throng'd firmament of spirits? Stiaightway 

Around His disembodied soul the powers 

Of darkness swarm'd, and Satan face to face 

With burning falchion barr'd His path. One look, 

Mere virtue bent on mere maliciousness, 

Pierced him like lightning, and shot withering fire 

Among his blasted hosts. Distraught they stood, 

Insensible, one moment ; and then fell 

From round Him, as the billow's cloven pride 830 

Falls in thick spray from off the vessel's prow 

By northern blasts, as by the arm of fate, 

Driven towards the port of refuge. Fain had we 

Accompanied His steps. His warning hand 

Restrain'd us. Lonely He had fought the fight ; 

And lonely He must stoop to strip the slain, 

And lonely gather up the spoils of death. 

u Immediate, quicken'd in His human spirit, 
More swiftly than the swiftest seraph's wing, 
With speed akin to thought journeying He pass'd 840 
Adown the firmamental heavens, and through 
The maze of constellations, and, or ever 
His stiffening corse was from the tree unloosed, 



240 REDEMPTION. [BOOH. 

Had traversed the dark avenue that leads 

Straight to the adamantine doors of hell. 

These open'd to His advent, and beneath 

Their awful archway He descended ; and, 

As downward through the lurid air He oped 

His discontinuous path, beneath Him lay 

The ruins and the wrecks of sin. And then 850 

Full on His naked soul His Father's Eye 

Rested with uneclipsed unclouded blaze, 

Rested and found no flaw, no film of dark, 

No jar, no discord, no antagonism, 

But light to light responsive, beam to beam, 

And love in faultless unison with love, 

Perfection imaging Perfection : whence, 

Not agony as with the damn'd perforce, 

But trust, and peace, and joy too deep for words. 

"Around Him devils and lost souls stood thronging, 
Under God's custody compell'd that hour [8(30 

To gather from the farthest vaults of hell, 
And witness His descent, whose calm aspect 
Might crush all hope, not wholly dead before, 
That Satan in the conflict waged on earth 
Should win some transient triumph, and unbar 
Their prison. But when now they saw their Lord 
Strengthless, for so He seem'd, as they themselves, 
Dark thoughts possess'd them to seize fast their prey, 
And hold Him hostage for their own escape — 87( 

Proof that no hell can change the lost. But lo, 
The Son of God upon that cursed soil, 



VTI.] REDEMPTION. 241 

In human weakness though Almighty, knelt. 
And gazing up into His Father's lace 
Pleaded for rescue from that dark sojourn 
Among the dead. And instantly His prayer, 
As Jonah's issuing from the ocean depths, 
Rose like a cloud of incense high within 
Heaven's temple. Then the empyrean shook ; 
The everlasting hills trembled ; the heavens 88(i 

Were bow'd beneath His glory, who came down 
Upon the wings of Cherubim, in wrath, 
Darkness beneath His feet, lightnings before, 
And round about Him clouds, which from their skirts 
Shot hailstones and thick burning coals of fire 
Among His enemies : while at their feet 
The solid yawn'd with fissures, and disclosed 
A lower depth of fire unquenchable, 
Gehenna's lake, soon hidden ; but the sight, 
Once seen, was shadow of the second death. 890 

And now the right hand of Omnipotence 
Was laid in love upon His Only Son, 
And drew Him from among His stricken foes, 
And from that vast profound, and o'er that gulf 
Untravell'd by created wing, that lies 
Betwixt that land of utter death and ours, 
Athwart that billowy chasm, over these hills 
And triple battlements of Paradise : 
And, ere on earth the Sabbath eve began, 
The Saviour met the sinner He had saved, 900 

And welcomed him beneath the trees of life. 
16 



242 REDEMPTION. [~BOOK 

" Now was there joy and jubilant delight 
In that fair Eden. Now was come the hour, 
For which four thousand years had look'd and long'd, 
Since first the solitary Abel trod 
These hills and plains. Placid had been that rest, 
And calm that haven after life's rough sea, 
Each one at will in holy solitude 
Reposing, or with the other saintly spirits 
Walking in blissful converse. Age by age 910 

Earth yielded hither her choicest and her best, 
And here the angels on their ministries 
Pass'd ever to and fro. But till the Word 
Had conquer'd death, He came not to the dead 
In excellence of glory manifest, 

Though there, as every where, in power and spirit : — 
Haply such advent had not all beseem'd 
The Lord of life: — howbeit they saw not God, 
As saints thereafter saw His face and lived, 
But rather walk'd by faith like those on earth ; <)2Q 

And oftentimes the craving cry ' How long ? ' 
Of souls beneath the altar rose to heaven. 
Judge then their ecstasy of joy, when now, 
A | >parent in a human form like theirs, 
The Saviour stood amongst them, and proclaim'd, 
The fight was foughten, and the victory won. 

" From realm to realm of that great under-world 
That day He journey'd. No one but received 
Some token of His love. And, as He pass'd 



VII. ] REDEMPTION. 243 

That lonely vale with its own gates recluse, (r30 

"Wherein the disembodied spirits in ward, 

Who once were disobedient ere the flood, 

Waited His advent with intenser hope, 

He enter'd and reveal'd Himself, their Lord, 

Besought, too late, for rescue in the ark, 

But not for mercy ere they died, which same 

Now bade them join the other Blessed Dead. 

" This was His latest work. For now the hour 
Predestined summou'd Him again to earth : 
And, follow'd with innumerable songs 940 

Of blessing, through the gates of Paradise, 
And all along its glorious avenue, 
Lonely He pass'd, and through the subject heavens 
(His foes still cowering from their sore defeat) 
To the lone chamber of the tomb. 

" The sun 
Had not yet risen ; but in the golden East 
The morning star was tricking his soft lamp, 
Like some fair pearl with amber overlaid, 
When through the twilight slid the hurrying steps 
Of women bearing to the sepulchre 950 

Unguents, and spice, and balm. Suddenly the' earth 
Trembled and shook : and Gabriel, such his charge, 
Descending from our airy watch roll'd back 
The sealed stone, and, with his glory, cast 
In a dead swoon the guards. Abash'd, confused. 
The women, seeing, saw not ; hearing, they 



244 REDEMPTION. [BOOB 

Heard not : save only she of Magdala 

Hasted, and ran, a breathless messenger, 

To those who mourn'd Him sorest. Quickly these 

Ran, love outstripping ardor, to the spot, 960, 

And found the empty sepulchre. Love mused ; 

Faith marvell'd ; but persistent Grief remain'd, 

Weeping beside that desolated tomb. 

Her heart lay buried there. He was her all, 

Who in her helpless hopeless misery 

Had sometime pass'd her by, and spake the word, 

And set the hell-bound captive free. Henceforth 

She loved Him with a holy clinging love, 

Stronger than death. With broken heart she stood 

Brokenly moaning at His cross : she heard 970 

His dying cry. Alas, the weary night ! 

The long interminable day of rest ! 

The mournful task of mingling that rich myrrh ! 

The stifled doubt, could a dead Saviour save ? 

She crush'd the maddening thought, and ouly clung 

The closer to the sepulchre : and now 

Weeping she lean'd upon the cold gray stone. 

And, stooping, look'd within. 

" There two of us, 
Where the dear body of our Lord had lain, 
Sate robed in radiant white. Little she reck'd 980 

Of angel ministries who sought her Lord : 
And when we ask'd, ' Woman, why weepest thou ? 
She utter'd her one plaint, ' He is not here.' 
But turning mournfully away beheld 



VII.] REDEMPTION. 245 

One whom she knew not, for the sluice of tears 
Had drench'd her eyelids : and He likewise ask'd, 
' Woman, why weepest thou ? whom seekest thou ? ' 
She answer'd ; when the Stranger turn'd and said, 
1 Mary.' She started, and, in one deep cry, 
Breathing her incommunicable bliss, 9U0 

* Rabboni,' fell before His feet, and fain 
Had clasp'd them. 

" But not now as heretofore, 
The human intercourse vouchsafed on earth ; 
Nor was He to His Father's throne in heaven 
That hour ascending. Yet a little space 
Emmanuel tabernacled among men 
To solace and sustain His orphan Church, 
To heal the bleeding heart of penitence, 
To cheer the downcast wayfarers, to stand 
Suddenly as a spirit, but very Man 1000 

Among His brethren, and imbreathe on them 
The benediction of His peace and power, 
To transform human fear to heavenly faith, 
To conquer doubt by love, a second time 
To teach His chosen fishermen to cast 
The drag-net of the kingdom, to reveal 
Himself unto His own in Galilee, 
Where He had lived and labor'd longest ; thence 
Returning to Jerusalem, once more 
To lead His loved apostles o'er the slope 10K> 

Of Olivet to sacred Bethany ; 
And, ere He left them in that world of sin 



246 REDEMPTION. [BOOK 

Irradiate with the bow of heavenly hope 

Their watching, and their warfare, and their woes. 

" It was a golden eventide. The sun 
Was sinking through the roseate clouds to rest 
Beneath the Western waves. But purer light 
And vestments woven of more glorious hues, 
Albeit invisible to mortal eyes, [1020 

Gladden'd the heavens. For there the hosts of God, 
Ten thousand times ten thousand, tier on tier, 
Marshall'd by Gabriel, fill'd the firmament ; 
The lowest ranks, horses and cars of fire, 
Circling Mount Olivet ; and next to these 
A body-guard of flaming seraphim, 
And hierarchal thrones ; and after them 
Celestial armies without number stretch'd 
In infinite ascent aloft, their swords 
Sheathed by their side (for, like an eagle scared, 
No foe on that great triumph moved the wing, 1030 
Open'd his mouth, or peep'd), and in their hand 
The palm of victory and the harp of praise : 
While through their thronging multitudes there oped 
A path of crystal glory, all perfumed 
With love and breezy raptures, such as heaven 
Had never known. But every eye was bent 
Upon the Saviour, as He stood amongst 
The apostolic group, and lifted up 
His hands and bless'd them, and in blessing rose, 
No wind, no car, no cherubim of lire 1040 

Ministrant, in His Father's might self-moved, 



VII. J REDEMPTION. 247 

Into the glowing sky ; until a cloud 

Far floating in the zenith, which had drunk 

Of the last sunbeams, wrapt His radiant form, 

And instantly became like light itself, 

Then melted into viewless air. But we, 

Closing around His path, with shouts of joy 

Rose with Him through the subjugated heavens, 

The desolate domains of Lucifer, 

And through the starry firmament, whose orbs, l/fiu 

Vibrating with the impulse of our march, 

Resounded Hallelujahs and flash'd fires 

Of welcome — a procession such as earth 

Saw never, nor had heaven beheld till now — 

Observing each his place, yet each one near 

The Prince of glory, who was near to each, 

His Omnipresent Eye on every face 

Shedding His rapture ; ever soaring higher, 

And singing as we soar'd, until we reach'd 

The confines of the third celestial sphere, 1060 

Shut in by gates of pearl, transcending these 

Of Paradise, as these surpass the porch 

Of the first Eden. There aloof, around, 

Thronging the arch on this side and on that, 

Was Michael with a host equal to ours, 

Sent from the heavenly Zion. Onward still 

We swept like clouds over an azure sky, 

And to the sound of martial trumpets sang 

Exultingly, ' Lift up your heads, ye gates ! 

Be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors ! 1071 

Up, and the King of glory shall come in.' 



248 REDEMPTION. | BOOK 

Immediate, like an echo from those ranks 

Guarding the heavenly citadel, the voice 

Of myriads perfectly attuned as one, 

Came back the peal of joyful challenge, 'Who, 

Who is the King of glory ? ' — and from ours 

The jubilant response, ' The Lord of hosts, 

Mighty in battle' against the powers of hell, 

Jehovah, King of glory ! Lift your heads ! 

Be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors ! 1080 

Up, and the King of glory shall come in.' 

i Who is the King of glory ? ' yet again 

Peal'd from those opening gates. ' The Lord of hosts : 

He is the King of glory,' broke once more 

In waves of thunder on those jasper walls, 

Which never shook till now. And, host with host 

Commingling, through the portals on we swept, 

And through the city of the King of kings, 

The streets of golden crystal tremulous 

Beneath the nimble tread of seraphim, 1090 

And eager principalities and powers, 

And cohorts without number, till we came 

Into the heavenly temple (space enough 

Beneath its comprehensive dome for all 

God's ministries and more than all twice told 

In order ranged) : and then the Great High Priest 

Alone advancing with His precious blood 

Touch'd, as it seem'd; the spotless mercy-seat ; 

And lo, the Everlasting Father rose, 

Diffusing beams of joy ineffable, 1100 

Which centred on His Son, His only Son, 



VII.] REDEMPTION. 249 

And rising to His bosom folded Him 

(If acts of Him the Increate can thus 

Be duly in our language shadow'd forth) 

And set Him at His own right hand : while clouds, 

Breathing Divine ambrosial fragrance, fill'd 

The temple, and awoke in every heart 

Bliss inconceivable of silent praise. 

»* Much, brother, could I tell what then and there 
Befell in heaven: and chiefly how the Son 1110 

Cleansed with the virtue of His blood those courts 
Which had defilement from the access thither 
Of spirits accurst, and having cleansed them bless'd 
With unction of the Holy One, and then 
Utter'd His irreversible decree, 
Which henceforth from those holiest precincts barr'd 
Entrance of ill. But yet remains untold 
The warfare which ensued in earth and heaven : 
And in the age of ages yet to come 
Often shall we resume the wondrous tale, 112G 

Which now I touch so briefly, of the past." 



END OF THE SEVENTH BOOK. 




Book (Eigfjtij. 



THE CHURCH MILITANT. 



Avaunt thee, horrid War : whose miasms, bred 

Of nether darkness and Tartarean swamps, 

Float o'er this fallen world and blight the flowers. 

Sole relics of a ruin'd Eden ! Hence 

With all thy cruel ravages ! fair homes 

Rifled for thee of husband, brother, son ; 

W r ild passions slipp'd like hell-hounds in the heart. 

And baying in full cry for blood ; the shock 

Of battle : the quick throes of dying men ; 

The ghastly stillness of the mangled dead ; 

The crumbling ramparts breach'd, the city storm'd. 

The massacre of unresisting age, 

The shrieks of violated innocence, 

And bloom, almost too delicate for the print 

Of bridal kisses and the touch of love, 

Ruthlessly trampled underneath the heel 



10 



THE CHURCH MILITANT. 251 

Of armed lust; and, pitiful to see, 

The mother's womb ripp'd by the pitiless sword. 

And life — her uuborn offspring's and her own — 

Shed in short mortal travail ; lurid flames, 20 

Wrapping the toils of arduous centuries 

And hopes of ages in one funeral pyre ; 

Gaunt famine after, and remorseless plague, 

Reaping their myriads where the warrior's scythe 

Had been content with thousands ; leaving scars 

Upon a nation's heart, which never time 

Wholly can heal : hence horrid, horrid War ! 

But, as I mused, there crowded on my spirit 

The lofty virtues nursed in strife ; the will 

That breaks but bends not ; goodness even in death 30 

Abhorring evil ; right defying wrong ; 

The stern self-sacrifice of souls afire 

For perill'd altars and for hearths profaned ; 

The generous chivalry, which shields the weak, 

And dares the oppressor's worst ; love guarding love 

From rapine, or, as God's executor, 

Dealing forth vengeance on the stubborn foe, 

And mercy to the vanquish'd ; all along 

The ages, names the noblest and the best 

From Israel's chiefs to those brave men whose swords It) 

Have been the bulwark of my native isle ; 

Till musing I exclaim'd, righteous War, 

Thou immemorial school of deathless deeds, 

Not thee I censure, nor thy sons, but those 

Dark powers of evil, who awoke thee first 

From thy eternal slumbers undisturb'd, 



252 THE CHURCH MILITANT. [BOOK 

Leaning remiss upon thy stainless spear 

Hard by God's seat : not thee or thine I blame, 

Not thee, — Jehovah is a man of war, 

Nor thine, — Jehovah is the Lord of hosts. 50 

Howbeit not of war in earth or heaven, 
After a grateful interlude, where thought 
Flow'd onward to its own sweet rhythm, at first 
Oriel discoursed ; but of the Sevenfold Spirit 
Who, in similitude of burning lamps, 
Burning before the sapphire Throne, appear'd 
At signal of His voice who sate thereon 
To move, His glory's effluence part veil'd 
And part translucent in a radiant cloud, 
While through the ranks of prostrate hierarchs 60 

Descending from the heaven of heavens He came. 
And with a sound of mighty rushing wind, 
And likeness as of fiery tongues, diffused 
In His Divine munificence of gifts 
The brightness of His Presence, and enwreath'd 
Each suppliant's head with flame. By the same 

Spirit 
Impregn'd, as if his lips were touch'd with fire, 
My guardian spake with an enthusiast joy 
Of those first Pentecostal days, that morn 
After such long millennial watches hail'd, 70 

That burst of dewy spring unchill'd by frost, 
That garden water'd by the early rain, 
And tended by the risen ascended Lord, 
The rosy childhood of His bride, the gush 



7111.] THE CHURCH MILITANT. 253 

Of pure first love untinctured by the world, 
When silvery Hope whisper'd in angel hearts, 
The time was short, the kingdom was at hand. 

" Where, brother, thou wilt ask," Oriel pursued, 
" Where, meanwhile, lurk'd the powers of darkness ? 

Crush'd 
They lay, and scatter'd for a week of years, 80 

And of their buoyant life utterly drain'd 
By that intolerable mortal stroke 
The Saviour's spirit, enfranchised on the cross 
From the rent tabernacle of His flesh, 
Dealt in one gaze around. Six years and more, 
Smit by that scathing agony, they cower'd, 
Irresolute, disheartened, disarray'd, 
The spoilers spoil'd, the thrones of hell dethroned. 
And all their routed hosts wandering astray, 
In earth or air, a spectacle of shame. 90 

But then (so Wisdom Infinite ordain'd), 
Time soothing their disastrous wound, of all 
Satan the first recall'd his drooping pride, 
And, gazing on earth's battle-field, renew'd 
His desperate counsels. All appear'd not lost. 
While ruin out of ruin yet might rise, 
As thus, conferring with his own dark thoughts 
And gathering courage from his daring words, 
Upon the height of Lebanon be mused : 

" * Satan, bethink thee who thou art. To faint 100 
Were weaker than thy vassal's weakness. Man 



254 THE CHURCH MILITANT. [BOOK 

For a few years' abandonment to lust, — 

Prodigious venture, — risks eternal flames. 

And shalt thou yield, thus alway respited 

From age to age ? Who knows not, but for ever ? 

Omniscience, as it seems, can only read 

Futurity but dimly. Hath the Cross 

Drawn, as foreshadow'd by the Crucified, 

All to His footstool ? I trow not. To thwart 

Love's best, to baffle Mercy's uttermost, 110 

This were revenge indeed, worthy the name, 

For the corroding fire His Dreadful Eye 

Has kindled in my secret bosom. Thou, 

Arch-adversary, be thyself once more. 

The crisis challenges despatch : for lo, 

Heaven's sapling strikes its roots deeper each day ; 

The fount of life unseal'd on Zion's hill 

Is ever sending forth fresh rivulets 

Of blessing, — blessing which to me is curse : 

Be mine to blight that tree : be mine to shed ■ 120 

A secret poison in that crystal spring. 

Despair, as hope, breeds counsels. I have found 

Anguish no sluggish spur to thought. Despatch — 

Yet for despatch delay. My faithful hosts 

Are scatter'd, and my princes, Baalim, 

Apollyon, Ashtaroth, and all their peers, 

Cower till the storm be overblown : with them 

Let me advise how easiest to retard 

The Gospel chariot wheels. Tides flow and ebb : 

This now hath reach'd its flood. The Son hath gone 130 

With His bright ministries to heaven, and there 



VIII. j THE CHURCH MILITANT. 255 

By sore experience taught, I dread Him less 

Than walking on this earth in mortal flesh. 

Nor fear I greatly His vicegerent Spirit, 

"Whose tongues of harmless lightning seem to' announce 

A different war. Here I put off the last 

Soft remnants of compunction. I have been 

Too generous, too gentle heretofore ; 

But henceforth, rather than the sinuous snake. 

Assume the fiery dragon. If this fail, 140 

As likely' it may, my quiver is not void.' 

u So saying, his dusky pinions he outspread 
And rose sublime into his ancient throne 
Set in the starry firmament, and thence 
Call'd his afflicted mates, who soon, though shon 
Of their late glory, with unbated rage, 
And eyes that flash'd implacable revenge, 
Came at their leader's summons, and ere loug 
Tn dire deliberations sate absorb'd. 

" The shadow of that council fell on earth 150 

When Stephen, on whose lips the Spirit had breathed 
More of the fire of love than on the rest, 
Was dragg'd before his nation's Sanhedrim, 
And with seraphic radiance on his face 
Pleaded his Master's cause, heaven's advocate 
Confronting hell's inexorable bar 
In vain : but, from that presbytery malign 
And ruthless judge averting his rapt gaze, 
Behold the heavens were open'd to his view, 



256 THE CHURCH MILITANT. [BOOK 

And with the eagle eye of faith he saw 160 

Within the veil the holy cherubim 

Shadowing the glory of the mercy-seat, 

And on the right the Great High Priest of God, 

Messiah, ministering (vision of bliss 

Ineffable), and, calmly kneeling down, 

Amid those cruel taunts and crushing stones, 

The dying martyr breathed his spirit forth, 

And fell in his Redeemer's arms asleep. 

" This was the signal of that bitter war, 
Whicn Satan and his re-assembled hosts, 170 

Now urging, now relaxing, the contest, 
Waged to the death for nine long months of years. 
War which upon its scroll of heroes 'nscribed 
Apostles, prophets, seers, evangelists, 
Princes, and peasants of a princely heart. 
Matrons, and maids, and children, till the cross 
Was planted on the battlements of Rome. 
Sore was the tempest ; but the rooted oak, 
Though loaden with the stormy winds and bruised, 
Only more widely cast its acorns round, 180 

The seed of after forests. On our part, 
Like lightnings on our ministries of love, 
Moved by the Omnipresent Spirit we flew. 
Heaven put forth all its ghostly strength as hell. 
Counsel with counsel militant: what time 
The snow-white horse and its imperial lord, 
Apollyon's symbol (worshipp'd there as Mars) 
Chosen in defiance of the King of kings, 



VIII.] TITE CHURCH MILITANT. 2/>7 

With eagles crown'd by Capitolian Jove, 

Went conquering and to conquer forth. Ere long 190 

That hue triumphal changed to fiery red, 

The rider and his horse incarnadined 

By fratricidal slaughter. And again, 

Lean hunger prowling o'er the Roman world, 

That mystic horseman and his crimson'd steed 

Grew black as night : all faces gather'd gloom ; 

The new wine languished, and the mirth of harps 

Was quench'd, and all the merry-hearted sigh'd : 

Presage of worse. For that black phantasm soou 

Assumed a livid pale, most ghastly steed, 200 

Bestridden by the king of terrors, Death, 

And follow'd by the shades of hell. Through all 

We pitch'd our tents around the saints of God, 

Alike in prisons and in palaces, 

In cities, and in lonesome dens and caves ; 

And, when the fadeless crown of martyrdom 

Was wreathen for the martyr's holy brow, 

The Captain of our armies oft ordain'd 

No slender band of spirits, but legions arm'd, 

And turms of the celestial chivalry, 210 

Such as in Dothan camp'd about the seer, 

To' attend His dying servants ; or Himself 

Descended in His chariot paved with love 

To bear them straightway home. 

" But time would fail 
To speak of all who trod in Stephen's steps, 
Who for their Master's sake endured the worst 
17 



258 THE CHURCH MILITANT. [BOOK 

Of vengeance men could wreak on fellow-men, 

Shame, taunts, revilings, hunger, nakedness, 

Bonds, dungeons, scourges, tortures, till at last 

They yielded up their bodies to be burn'd, 22C 

Or bow'd their neck to the devouring sword. 

By many, with my bright compeers, I stood 

In their last agony. Some I had watch'd 

Like thee, from earliest infancy of faith. 

My chosen wards : of whom thou know'st by name, 

Perpetua, beautiful Perpetua, pride 

Of Carthage. I was by her side that hour 

When she a wife, a mother, stood unblench'd, 

So young and fair, so tender and so true, 

Before the proud Hilarian. In mine ears 230 

Vainly her father urged his passionate suit, 

And pleaded his thin silvery locks in vain. 

And when the shouting theatre received 

Her and her sister saint, Felicitas, 

A princess and a slave (rank weigh'd not then), 

And with them other three — when ruthless hands 

Stripp'd from her gentle limbs her robes, and gave 

To the rude gaze of thousands charms which love 

Had scarcely seen, — I heard her low-breathed cry 

For patience, by her Lord vouchsafed, though now 240 

The scourge made furrows on her quivering flesh, 

And soon the madden'd and infuriate bull, 

Wild with affright, forth rushing from its den 

Gored all her tender side ; until herself, 

Triumphant in the hour of mortal pain, 

Guided the gladiators trembling blade 



VIII.] THE CHURCH MILITANT. 259 

Straight to her bursting throat : then it was mine, 

Attended by a glorious retinue 

Of angels, to await her parting spirit, 

And lead her, heralded with songs of praise, 250 

Through heaven's glad portals to her Lord's embrace 

In yonder bowers of beatific joy. 

" Martyr'd Perpetua was but only one 
Of thousands not unlike : until the cry, 
Swelling from year to year, from age to age, 
Rose ever louder and more loud from souls 
Beneath the altar crying, ' How long, O Lord, 
Most Holy, dost Thou not avenge our blood ? 
How long, O Lord, how long ? ' A little space 
God's patience suffer'd. Then the Pagan earth 260 
Trembled as smitten with His hand: the sun 
Became as sackcloth, and the moon as blood : 
The stars fell ruinous from heaven, as when 
A fig-tree, shaken of a mighty wind, 
Casts its untimely figs : the firmament 
Was shrivell'd as a scroll : the island rocks 
Fled, and the everlasting mountains sank 
Appall'd. Jehovah had arisen, and man 
Was prostrate at His feet. 

" The earthquake ceased ; 
And all things had ere long resumed their calm, 270 
When lo, the mystic Bride appeared in heaven 
Clothed with the sun, the moon beneath her feet. 
And on her head a coronal of stars. 



2j60 the church militant. [book 

Exceeding fair. But, even as we gazed, 

Her hour was come, and travailing in birth 

She cried aloud, with bitter pangs and throes 

Tormented. And, or ever we were 'ware, 

Right opposite a fiery dragon roll'd 

His baleful eyes, all ravenous to devour 

Her helpless babe when born : portentous sign 280 

Of woe and warfare imminent, which soon 

Darken'd the fields of heaven. Her new-born babe 

In sooth was caught up to the throne of power ; 

And upon eagle wings the woman fled 

Into the lonely wilderness, and there 

Abode for six times seven months of years, 

Until the time appointed her of God. 

But now the dragon and his hosts must drink 

More deeply of the bitter cup of shame, 

And taste from our avenging swords that wrath 290 

Which they had braved too fiercely and too long. 

" It was the year that Constantine avow'd 
Allegiance to the conquering Cross, when I, 
Returning from my solitary charge 
With the lost Theodore to Hades, found 
War, open war, already pre-annouuced 
In hsaven. For though Messiah, when He roso 
Triumphant from Mount Olivet, had cleansed 
The Heavenly Zion and its vast precincts, 
Nor suffer'd from that hour unholy feet 300 

To tread those temple courts, there lay betwixt 
Wide champaigns, lower than the heaven of heavens, 



VIII.] THE CHURCH MILITANT. 261 

But loftier than the earth ; and these the foe, 

Recovering from their fatal bruise, possess'd, 

Wide regions of the starry firmament, 

Not without orbs and embryo worlds, the which 

They fortified with munimental walls 

Of iire and darkness, fastnesses and forts 

Innumerable, but chiefly' around that pole 

Far stretching toward the regions of the North, 310 

Where Satan fix'd his capital supreme, 

By mortals Pandemonium call'd, for there 

He and his rebel potentates were wont, 

A gloomy consistory, to sit immured, 

And thence descending in quick raids to ply 

Their devilish arts upon mankind : as when, 

To liken things in heaven to things on earth, 

A pirate chieftain in the Egean lurks 

By Lesbos or its tributary isles, 

And sweeps the ocean from his secret lair. 320 

Moreover from those dark palatial halls, 

Where fallen gods in synod sate enthroned, 

Invective blasphemies' against the saints 

Exaggerating or inventing ill, 

Cruel, obscure, vindictive, false, malign, 

Rose day and night to God: never more loud, 

Never more loathsome than when Caesar's crown 

Wreath'd Christian brows, and Satan knew his seat 

Was crumbling underneath its idol weight. 

" But now the inevitable hour had struck 330 

Of conflict. Hell's iniquity once more 



262 THE CHURCH MILITANT. [BOOK 

Had risen and trembled on the utmost brim. 

Nor was it longer possible for ours, 

Who for four thousand years aud more had fought, 

Opposing stratagem to stratagem, 

Manoeuvre to manoeuvre, toil to toil, 

But from the forceful violence of war 

By God's command refraining, not to feel 

A stern and holy joy, when now the word 

Came from the height of Ziou, by the mouth 3*0 

Of Suriel, to equip themselves for fight, 

And where the standard of great Michael waved, 

A sheet of flame athwart the northern heavens. 

To muster their innumerable ranks 

For battle, following where he led the way. 

" But ere that burning messenger resumed 
His station at the footstool of God's throne, 
Unarm'cl, and unaccompanied, he pass'd 
(Such is the fearless confidence of love, 
And such amazement fearless love compels — 350 

So Moses stood unmoved in Pharaoh's court) 
Within the triple walls of darkness piled 
By Satan round his vast metropolis, 
And through the throng of ruin'd seraphim, 
And lurid cohorts round about them ranged, 
And, suddenly amid that council hall 
Apparent, for His Lord spake winged words : 

"'Ye fallen principalities of heaven, 
Wrath is impendent. Michael and his hosts 



VIII.J THE CHURCH MILITANT. 263 

Already by command are on their way 360 

To cleanse these heavenly regions. Ere the sword 
Drive you and yours to ignominious flight 
Or worse — ' 

" But Satan, rising from his throne, 
Scarce in his fury finding words, brake short 
The warning voice of heaven's ambassador, 
1 Whence art thou, cherub? Are not heaven's domains 
Sufficient for thy nimble wing, that thou 
Must violate my realms ? Michael, thou sayest, — 
He first, or I, of the archangelic three ? 
His armies — are they more or less than mine ? 370 
But let him come, with all the hosts of God 
Number'd tenfold, — I fear, I fly him not. 
Whatever it avail in idle peace, 
Love is no equal match for hate in war, 
Nor truth for guile, nor courage for despair. 
Meanwhile for thy insultant ambassage, 
Until the cohorts of thy friends are driven 
From our imperial battlements confused, 
Within the darkest dungeon they conceal, 
Cherub, abide in chains, a spy's desert.' 380 

" So saying, the Arch-fiend stretch'd his puissant arm, 
To grasp that fearless spirit, but grasp'd him not. 
For God around him cast His shield of power 
Invisible ; and through them forth he pass'd 
(As once Messiah through the furious crowd 
Of Nazareth pass'd scathless) through the guards 



264 THE CHURCH MILITANT. [BOOK 

Who vainly throng'd his path, and through the maze 

Of bastions — none could stop his way — nor paused 

Until he came within angelic ken 

Of the bright legions now from far and near 390 

Assembling round the hierarchal tent 

Of Michael. Goodly was the sight and brave. 

Far as the eye could reach, beneath him lay, 

In turms and squadrons and battalions rank'd, 

The armies of the living God. Like licdit 

Their helmets shone ; like lightnings flash'd their 

swords ; 
While over them their ensigns waved like fire : 
Warriors innumerable, of whom the least 
Thus militant appearing among men 
Would loose the loins of thousands. On the right 400 
Was Gabriel marshalling his endless hosts ; 
Nor less upon the left was Raphael's charge ; 
Michael the centre held : while far in front 
Ten thousand times ten thousand chariots blazed, 
And horsemen clad in armor white as snow, 
Who oft to right and left disparting show'd 
The forest of impenetrable spears behind. 

" Straight to those guards of flaming seraphim, 
Where Michael stood alone pre-eminent, 
Directing with his eye, and hand, and spear, 410 

The glorious tryst, sped Suriel and announced 
The scornful answer of the foe : whereat, 
From chief to chief, from armed rank to rank, 
And from brigade to battailous brigade 



VIII. J THE CHURCH MILITANT. 265 

Rolling, arose a shout of martial wrath 

Indignant Thrice it rose, and thrice it fell. 

A mighty wave of multitudinous sound, 

And broke far off amid the troubled stars : 

And, as the latest echoes sank, I came 

From Zion's height, and took, at Gabriel's beck, 420 

My post upon his distant right reserved. 

u But now, at secret signal from the Throne, 
Sounded the archangelic trump. Forthwith 
That hosts of hosts, as by one breath inspired, 
In silence voiceless as the hush of night, 
Moved on with unimaginable speed, 
Smooth and unbroken (as the peopled earth 
Unjarring and unjarr'd moves evermore 
Along her heavenly orbit), through the realms 
Of light, until frowning before them lay 430 

Outstretch'd in almost limitless extent 
The empyreal kingdom of the prince of hell, 
Immured in gloom, meet ramparts for meet foes, 
Walls of what seem'd impenetrable dark, 
Blind fissures yawning here and there betwixt, 
Inviolate, embrasures none above, 
Foundations none below, to mine or scale : 
Nothing to mark where lurk'd the unseen foe ; 
No whisper heard within. 

" Thither arrived 
Michael his legions wide aloof disposed 440 

To search if guarded portal, or ravine, 



266 THE CHURCH MILITANT. [BOOK 

Or secret avenue, might tempt approach. 

But none appeared ; though twice ten thousand leagues 

Each touching each his millions stretch'd, such clouds 

And exhalations had the Apostate Fiend 

(In likeness of the judgment clouds that roll 

Veiling the Light of Light from creature gaze, 

Though those be pure and these impure and foul) 

Around his throne of evil circumfused. 

But as we stood at gaze, a furnace blast 450 

Rush'd from those bastions forth, and storms of hail, 

As sharp rocks hurl'd from countless catapults, 

With whirlwind fury on our armies smote ; 

Nor intermitted, while above our heads 

Hot clouds of fiery ashes, black as night, 

Discharged their ominous burden : such as once 

Vesuvius travailing in earthquake pour'd 

On Herculaneum's idle battlements, 

And dooin'd Pompeii's last festivities. 

Horrible tempest : but for us that hour 460 

Innocuous, who with instinct's quick surmise 

(So flashes before thought the closing lid 

That guards the apple of the human eye) 

All cover'd by our golden shields received 

Those levell'd thunderbolts ; and on our helms, 

And mail of proof those burning ashes fell 

Harmless as rain, which we beneath us shook — 

Not without scorn. Haply to one who watch'd 

From Pharos or from Egypt's plain it seem'd 

Far in the Northern heavens a nebulous mist 470 

Streak'd with strange fires, which vanish'd as he gazed. 



VIII.] THE CHDRCH MILITANT. 267 

But, when that terrible Simoom had pass' J, 

No sun of light had moved, none crouch'd with fear, 

None counsell'd base retreat. Such lofty strength 

God in the hearts of all infused. And lo, 

Michael stretch'd forth his spear ; and instantly, 

Quick as the lightning's flash, from east to west 

The watchword ran ; and even as we were 

We plunged into those beetling clouds — no thought 

Of dastard terror, though it seem'd as well 480 

Plunge into Etna's crater. For each one 

His armor, forged of diamond and light, 

Made luminous a foothold ; and for each 

The breath of his own lips before him clave 

A dubious path, dubious and throng'd with foes, 

Who now half hidden, half apparent now, 

With arms of darkness in the darkness aim'd 

Their deadly thrusts. Wounds were received and 

given 
By weapons upon diverse anvils wrought, 
Keen, ghastly, fiery wounds. Nor deem it strange 490 
That sinless angels bear some marks of war, 
A transient anguish for eternal gain. 
Has not the King of glory in His bauds, 
And feet, and side, prints which eternity 
Will not efface? Why not His angels ? Is 
The servant greater than his Lord ? Were we 
By hearing and by sight alone to know 
His sympathy with pain?" 

As Oriel spake, 



t68 THE CHURCH MILITANT. L BOOK 

He laid his hand upon a scar that seara'd 

His forehead, which not unobserved before 500 

Only appear'd a line of deeper thought, 

No foul disfigurement, but added power 

A.nd more majestic royalty of mien 

" This from the furious Moloch's blade, who deem'd 
With shout of victory and redoubled stroke 
To end our duel ; but Gabriel succor'd me, 
And bore the fiend on his avenging spear 
Back to his cloudy ambush. Few of ours 
In that dread battle but received some sign 
Of like endurance, honorable scars, 610 

More precious to the warrior's glistening eye 
Than spoil or jewell'd diadem : and few 
But in extremity of peril owed 
Their safety to a comrade's generous arm. 
Deeds of high courage and renown were wrought, 
And links enwove by stern self-sacrifice 
Brother to brother binding, binding all 
The closer to the Prince of all, whose eye 
Nothing escaped, and whose recording hand 
Wrote every act of loyalty and love 520 

In heaven's unfading ageless chronicles. 
The war was hand to hand : albeit at times 
The storm-clouds scatter'd by God's breath reveal 'd 
A cubic phalanx of the foe, more densely' 
Embattled than the guards of Macedon, 
Who for great Philip's greater son subdued 
Wan Persia 'neath the leopard's feet. And then 



VIII.] THE CHURCH MILITANT 269 

Oft have I seen some mighty seraph, arm'd 

In adamantine armor, throw himself 

Into those serried hostile ranks alone, 530 

While, following in the path that fiery sword 

Made for itself, others to right and left 

Have dealt their indiscriminate vengeance. Thus 

Or singly, or in groups, or marshall'd charge, 

As time and place befell, that conflict raged : 

Millions of flaming spirits on either side, 

And heaven, with planetary orbs for towers, 

The ample battle-field. But from the first 

Darkness succumb'd to light : though not one day, 

As mortals reckon days, nor one brief year 540 

Look'd forth the sun on the revolving earth, 

But seven times seven her annual circuit mark'd, 

The while from battlement to battlement, 

From cloudy lair to lair, from orb to orb, 

From plain to plain of dismal overthrow, 

The foe borne slowly backward fell. In chains 

My chieftain led Apollyon breathing fire, 

And with him his quaternion body-guard, 

Four angels fiercest of hell's brood, and bound 

After the battle, for worse fate reserved, 550 

These last in fetters by Euphrates' banks ; 

But hurl'd their leader to the abysmal pit, 

To moan his fall with Uziel and his hosts. 

Nor less Michael encounter'd Baalim 

With Belus and Beelzebub, who drave 

Consentient in tempestuous hurricane 

Their fiery cars against his single might. 



270 THE CHURCH MILITANT. [BOOK 

But found the race not always to the swift, 

When, cleaving through their shields and useless helms 

Those twain, our archangelic hierarch 500 

Smote Baalim as with a stroke of fate 

Inevitable, and dragg'd him from his throne 

Above that flaming chariot, and consign'd 

Him, maugre his relentless blasphemies, 

To durance by Gehenna's brazen doors. 

These our sole captives : for the rest our charge 

Was not to capture but to drive them forth 

From that supernal firmament. So God 

Commanded, so His ministers obeyed. 

For, as the trumpet of the jubilee 570 

Blown on the height of Zion rang through heaven, 

Their latest stronghold storin'd, their proud array 

Pierced and transpierced on all sides, and their chiefs 

Staggering with ghastly wounds, and pale with rage, 

While now the breath of the Eternal Spirit 

Cleansed all that sulphurous atmosphere, the crowds, 

Of those rebellious, gnashing with remorse, 

And inextinguishable pride, were seen 

Driven to the uttermost precincts, that he 

Betwixt celestial and terrestrial things ; 580 

While Michael and his peers advancing bore 

Their mangled cohorts down, a hideous rout, 

Falling, like meteors quench'd, from heaven. Nor 

was 
One province, lost in that disastrous fight, 
Ever by the infernal powers regain'd : 
For, while his armies march'd triumphant on 



VIII.] THE CHURCH MILITANT. 271 

To songs of undeclining victory, 

Messiah seal'd the glorious realms they trod 

Against the foes' return. And, in the year 

The apostate Julian breathed his last on earth, 590 

The rearmost of those ruin'd ones, despite 

The cloudy covert of the Arch-fiend's shield, 

Was driven from the empyreal regions down 

To lower worlds. And heaven had rest from war 

" Scarce in the limitless demesnes of space 
Echoing had our triumphal pagans sunk 
To whispers, ere a strange refrain of woe, 
Foreboding ill to dwellers on the earth, 
Rose from the Prescient Spirit : and, without pause 
Of service, we on God's behalf resumed 600 

Our stations militant about the saints : 
Nor needless, nor too soon. For Satan now, 
Dislodged from heaven with all his powers accurst, 
Driven headlong, and tormented with quick wounds 
(For not to them were healing leaves of life 
Brought in that battle from the trees that bloom 
Around the heavenly Zion), urged their flight 
Through the terrestrial firmament, nor stay'd 
Till shrouded by the vaporous skirts of clouds, 
That for seven moons had hung like ominous death 61 u 
Over the frozen regions of the North, 
They cluster'd shivering with despair and shame, 
A ghastly rabblement of angels — small 
And great were there — the mightiest as the least 
Confounded. But as when a stranded bark 



272 THE CHURCH MILITANT. [BOOK 

Is beating on the surge-swept rocks, the crew 

Pale with near death around their captain throng, 

The while he schemes some miserable raft 

Only less hopeless than the ravenous waves, 

So they around the lost Archangel nock'd, 620 

Who, with intensity of stifled rage, 

Not fear, pallid and trembling, for his time 

He knew was short, lest premature despair 

Should, ere the fated hour had struck, consign 

Him and his armies to the bottomless pit, 

Opening designs, which on himself and them 

"With tenfold vengeance should recoil, thus spake : 

" ' Comrades in arms, and in this sore defeat 
Equal companions, sinister this day 
Hath been to us the sword's arbitrament. 630 

Such is the lot of war. But not the less 
Stands adverse our unconquerable will, 
Against which iron obstinate resolve 
Omnipotence is shatter'd. Friends, herein 
Let us make virtue of necessity. 
The door of mercy hath long since been shut ; 
And soon, after a respite pre-ordain'd, 
If rightly' I read the oracles of fate, 
The portals of the vast abysmal deep 
Will open, and the victor hosts of heaven, 640 

Or heaven's High King Himself descending, drive 
Us from our native light to the dark real ms 
Of chaos, there to' abide disconsolate, 
Disown'd of God. disherited of heaven, 



VTTT.] TRl CnURCH MILITANT. 273 

Unless in sooth we make a hell of earth, 
And thus anticipate a lower fall, 
Embracing (our primeval hope) this orb 
Within the empire of eternal night. 
Nor call I now a secret consistory 

Of potentates, and seraphim, and thrones: 650 

My comrades, be ye all my counsellors — 
Thus much your zeal, your faith, your sufferings claim. 
Not wisely has One deem'd Allwise, methinks, 
Sulfer'd our weary multitudes to rest 
Midway on this vex'd globe, whose former wrecks 
Shall be forgotten, overlaid with more ; 
Nor will the hostile legions find their charge 
So light as their untimely shouts misdeem. 
Much may in brief be done. First let us loose 
The barriers of those Northern floods that chafe 660 
Around the confines of the Roman world, 
An angry fretting sea, which loosed may sweep 
That Woman (ye that hear me, understand), 
Her with the starry crown and new-born child. 
To utter death. But failing this, — and this 
Is but the prelude of my last revenge, — 
Our triumphs in the past, and they have been 
Such as have shaken the Eternal Throne, 
Have sprung from fighting God with God-like arms : 
Now let us counterfeit Himself, Triune. 670 

Comrades, for this I willingly forego 
My solitary regal state supreme, 
And for the common sake of all resign 
My archangelic primacy, and give 
18 



274 THE CHURCH MILITANT. [BOOK 

My sceptre to another. Which, ye gods, 
Which of ye will ascend my throne, and share 
With me its everlasting royalty ? ' 

" He ask'd, but for a space no whisper broke 
The gloomy silence, — such far-shadowing fears 
Fulfill'd all hearts, — till Ashtaroth, still sore 680 

With wounds unclosed and torments unassuaged, 
Groan'd forth, ' If only Baalim were here ! ' 

" And Satan, as a prescient god, return'd — 
' Thy prayers shall be accomplish'd. Baalim 
In the ripe fulness of predestined years 
Shall rise — so fatal oracles ordain — 
Rise from the dark abyss : and him I set 
Vicegerent on my throne, by virtue earn'd, 
Messiah's not unmeet antagonist, 

Subdued and risen against subdued and risen, 690 

And with him thee, my faithful Ashtaroth, 
Indomitable in thy sevenfold might. 
Henceforth my glory is to glorify 
You twain, you only. Let us, three in one, 
If not in essence yet in will triune, 
Tri unity of darkness, counterwork 
The Trinity of light. My soul forecasts 
The shadows of the future. Is the cup 
Of vengeance sweet ? Comrades, it shall be fill'd 
Full and for ever to the cruel brim. 700 

Messiah hath espoused a Bride on earth : 
We will defile that Bride. His Church of old 



VIII.] THE CHURCH M T LITANT. 275 

Fell easily in our lascivious arms ; 

But this chaste matron, nurtured at the Cross, 

And overshadow'd by the Dove, and school'd 

In suffering, will be far more riirid found : 

Yet not impregnable, we copying Him. 

Doth He work slowly ? slowly we must work : 

And secretly ? we must in secret work : 

And patiently ? we patiently must work. 7 10 

And if at last within His temple courts 

His well-beloved, by us betray'd, debauch'd, 

Decking herself with scarlet, gems, and gold, 

And all the blandishments of harlotry, 

Have dalliance with the nations and their kings, 

And offer them her honey'd cup of loves, 

Drunken herself w 7 ith sweeter nectarine, 

The life-blood of the martyr'd saints of God, 

Were not this vengeance which might soothe our pangs 

Here, or in dread Gehenna, to recall ? 720 

Let Him chastise as likes Him. Let Him crush 

Our hatred underneath His burning feet. 

We shall have marr'd Plis bridal. What amends 

Were to the injured spouse the worst of ills 

Heap'd on the loathed adulterer ? Likelier far, 

Weary and sick at heart of those ingrate, 

Messiah will forsake that ruin'd race, 

Them and their tainted home, and leave us here, 

Apostate gods of an apostate world.' 

" So spake the lost Archangel ; and his hosts 730 
Infatuate on their bucklers clash'd applause. 



276 THE CHURCH MILITANT. [BOOK 

" Ah subtlest, snared in thine own subtleties ! 
False spirit, by thine own falsehoods circumvent ! 
Folly impersonate ! And deemedst thou 
In thy blind madness to defile the Bride, 
Whom from eternity the Father gave 
Affianced consort to His only Son ? 
Defile her ? or, if not defile, destroy ? 
Go, ply thy devilish arts, thou shalt but grasp 
An unsubstantial phantom, or at most, 740 

Polluting more thy loathsome seed, advance 
A harlot to the world's hierarchal throne : 
The Bride is hidden in the wilderness. 
Go, heat thine idol furnace sevenfold, 
And, baffled of the Bride, her children cast 
Into the burning kiln, it shall not singe 
The tender blossom on their cheek ; for lo, 
Walking at large as sons of God with God 
Through fire and fume, their white asbestos robes 
Grow only purer with intenser flame. 750 

" l Dead calm before the tempest: a strange hush 
Upon the expectant deep : the winds enchain'd, 
Till from the mystic Israel's tribes the saints 
Were seal'd in secret with the seal of God ; 
And visions of the upper Paradise, — 
Palm-bearing, white-robed multitudes who sing 
Salvation, pastures of unwithering bloom, 
And fountains of perennial living joy, — 
Drew homeward pilgrim hearts. Twas done: and 
heaven 



VIII.] THE CHURCH MILITANT. 277 

In solemn awe kept silence for a space : 760 

While now seven angels stood with trumps in hand ; 

And habited in light, as man's High Priest 

Standing before the golden mercy-seat, 

The Christ, the Angel of the Covenant, 

Offer'd in sacrifice rich fragrant clouds 

Of incense with the struggling prayers of saints, — 

Propitious eucharist. But, this rite done, 

The Angel in His golden censer took 

Fire blazing from that altar hearth, and cast 

Earthward the flaming coals, which as they fell 770 

Kindled the tempest-charged electric air. 

And the first angel blew his trump ; and lo, 

Forth rushing from the North a hailstorm burst 

Upon the Roman earth, and fire and ice 

(More terrible than that which smote the pride 

Of Egypt at the beck of Amram's son) 

Fell mix'd with blood. Nor long delay : for now 

The second angel sounded, and forthwith 

A mountain, belching lava streams and smoke, 

Torn from its dark foundations, slowly sank T80 

Into the angry seas, and dyed their waves 

With ruddy fires. And lo, an ominous star. 

As the third trumpeter his clarion blew, 

Sloped through the startled firmament and fell, 

Bitter as wormwood, in the crystal springs : 

Whence after flow'd not life, but death. But, ere 

This plague was past, the fourth celestial watch 

Sounded his boding cornet, and behold 

TIip sun and moon endured dismal eclipse, 



278 THE CHURCH MILITANT. [BOOK 

Aiid through the heavens a third part of the stars 790 
Grew pale: while flying with disastrous wing 
An eagle cleft the troubled sky and scream'd 
[ts triple dirge prophetic, Woe, Woe, Woe ! 

" Like buried Nineveh, or Carthage, Rome 
Had sunk for ever underneath these plagues, 
But on the verge of ruin, as forecast 
By Satan, Baalim, heal'd of his wound, 
In likeness of a ravenous beast of prey, 
Rising from the abysmal waters, ranged 
The desolated shores, ten-horn'd, ten-crown'd, 800 

And on his heads the names of blasphemy : 
To him the dragon tender'd all his power. 
While sevenfold Ashtaroth, with beauty smirch'd 
In battle, but with undecaying wiles, 
Couching his fell designs in lamb-like guise, 
Sent through all lands his legionary spirits, 
And led the shepherds of the silly sheep 
Blindfold, and blinding others, to adore 
The beast whose deadly wound was heal'd, and make, 
By his perfidious miracles beguiled, 810 

A bestial vocal image, who as God 
Upon the altar seated in God's house, 
Holding the keys of Peter, should receive 
The homage of the world. Thus Phoenix-like 
On the rent walls and smoking towers of Rome, 
In hideous mimicry of Him who built 
His church on Salem's crumbling battlements, 
The Arch-adversary for his harlot bride 



VTII.] THE CHURCH MILITANT. 279 

Builded a mystical metropolis, 

The haunt of devils, Babylon the great, 820 

Whence in her pride and pomp she might allure 

The nations, as the peerless queen of heaven, 

Mother and mistress of all lands. Alas 

For miserable Christendom ! The East 

Gloom'd underneath the shadow of new gods, 

Sculptured, or cast, or pictured : and the West 

Drave out Olympian deities to' instate 

Angels and saints within their vacant shrines, 

Blaspheming God and them at once. Meanwhile 

Apollyon, otherwise Abaddon call'd, 83u 

Who sank with Baalim, equal in crime, 

Nor had in the abyss unlearn'd revenge, 

Oped, when his chains were loosed, the infernal pit. 

From whence, as from a furnace, fiery smoke 

Rose, darkening the terrestrial firmament ; 

And locust legions issuing, mail'd for war, 

None such before or after them, swarm'd forth 

Embattled from the wilds of Araby, 

And with their lion teeth and scorpion stings 

Tormented them that dwelt upon the earth 810 

For twice five months of years. Nor had this scourge 

Pass'd ere the sixth prophetic trumpet clang'd, 

And the four spirits, Apollyon's fourfold guard, 

Bound in Euphrates, by command were loosed, 

And straightway from the famed Bagdad led forth 

Myriads of myriads, turms of horse, twice told, 

In sulphur clad and hyacinth and fire, 

Over the devastated earth which shook 



280 THE CHURCH MILITANT. [BOOK 

Beneath their trampling: but the rest, whose names 
Were not engraven in the book of life, 850 

In foul idolatries and endless lusts 
And devilish incantations lived and died. 

tV The roots of fairest bloom lie sometime hidden 
The deepest underneath the soil : the stones 
Of purest crystal are from gloomiest mines : 
The tenderest pearls are won from roughest seas : 
And stars of colors dipp'd in Iris' vats 
Beam from unfathomable distances. 
Ere they disclose their radiance. And when night 
Hung darkest o'er the struggling Church, — when faith 
Was weary wrestling, not with heathen foes, [860 

But, mystery of mysteries, with her 
Who claim'd allegiance as the Bride of Christ, — ■ 
When Satan and his fellow-fiends devised 
Daily new tortures, and relentless scythes 
Mow'd swaths of martyrs in the Alpine glens, — 
When fronting all the powers of Antichrist 
Christ's feeblest braved their fiercest, — then and there 
Were vessels fashion'd for the Master's use 
Of unexampled beauty and of price 87fl 

Beyond all price. The Comforter was there, 
And in His tender ministries we learn'd 
Patience and grace not dream'd of hitherto. 
Angels hung clustering round an infant's sleep ; 
And seraphs waited for a child's response ; 
And legions watch'd who deem'd themselves alone. 
Love baffled hate; and never a trembling lamb 



VIII.] THE CHURCH MILITANT. £81 

Was from the Heavenly Shepherd's bosom torn. 
Eternity irradiated time : 

A Father's smile outweigh'd earth's myriad powers ; 
A Saviour's love was country, kith, and home ; 880 

The weakest, in the Spirit's might, were strong. 
^Ah ! brother, there are tales of secret grace, 
Written in heaven, which shall suffuse thine eyes 
With tears of joy hereafter. 

" But those days 
Were number'd of rebuke and blasphemy. 
And even as Rome in her infatuate pride 
Vaunted the last faint witnesses were crush'd, 
Lo, from the heavens descended One whose face 
Shone as the sun, cloud-mantled, rainbow-crown'd, 890 
And set His fiery right foot on the sea, 
His left on earth, and with His lion voice 
Waking far thunders in the clouds that hung 
Around the throne of judgment, sware by Him 
WTio lives for ever and for ever, time, 
As meted on His chart, should be no more, 
Save only till the great archangel blew 
The latest trumpet of the seven, and then 
The mystery of God should be complete. 

" Askest thou, who it was, thus robed in light ? 90u 
None other than Messiah. For they err 
Who deem, because the Word as man's High Priest 
Within the Holiest Sanctuary abides, 
That never, as before His days of flesh, 



282 THE CHURCH MILITANT. [BOOK 

He, Omnipresent, as in heaven, on earth 

Reveals His glory to the sons of men 

Or angels. Show'd He not Himself to Saul 

Of Tarsus, as he near'd Damascus' gates ? 

And fell not John in Patmos at His feet ? 

And when unhappy Salem sank, as sinks 910 

The blood-red sun in clouds of fiery storm, 

Came He not in His royalty descending, 

Smiting His foes, and rescuing His own 

According to His word ? Nor otherwise 

When dragon ensigns fled before the Cross, 

The Incarnate Lamb, beaming His beams of wrath. 

"Was present in the awful strife. And now 

What time this last confederacy of hell 

Was stricken to the heart, He stood and cried, 

By man, but not by us unseen, unheard. 920 

" That Morning Star, herald of dawn, diffused 
Its radiance on all lands and distant isles, 
Nor, brother, least on thine. Never again 
Such midnight darkness whelm'd the earth. Far 

streaks 
Of glory flush'd the heavens. Yet not the less 
The powers of hell conspired to dim or quench 
The God-enkindled flame. But stifled here, 
The bright fire burst forth there in tenfold strength. 
And when with better augury they breathed 
Over the toilworn Church a sultry heat, 930 

Mephitic, somnolent, the winds of God 
Rushing tempestuous, and with lightnings wiug'd, 



VIII.] THE CHURCH MILITANT. 283 

Scatter'd the deadly sloth. For now appear'd, 

Emerging from the heavenly sanctuary, 

Seven angels, clad in priestly robes of white, 

Each holding in his hand a golden vase, 

Full of the wrath of God. These as they pour'd 

Forth from their fiery censers one by one, 

The earth was smitten by a noisome plague, 

The sea became a pool of stagnant gore, 940 

The rivers and the fountains rlow'd with blood, 

The old Euphrates dwindled in its bed 

And ran a puny stream a child might wade, 

While spirits malignant, by hell's triad urged, 

Sped forth, gathering the nations and their kings 

To Armageddon's battle-field. The while 

Another angel, flying in mid-heaven, 

Preach'd as he flew to every tribe and tongue 

Evangel tidings of eternal love. 

And on from watch to watch adown the streets 950 

Of Zion pass'd the cry, ' Arise, behold 

The Bridegroom cometh,' and the virgins rose 

Who for long hours had slept, and trimm'd their 

lamps 
And ready stood, waiting their Lord's return. 

" Thus, brother, have I at thy suit retraced, 
Though but in briefest retrospect, the fight 
The militant Church hath foughten. Nor remains 
Save that the latest censer of God's wrath 
Be pour'd into the aerial firmament 
Ere the shout echoes round the startled world, 9«o 



284 THE CHURCH MILITANT. [BOOK 

i Great Babylon is fallen ! ' and the Prince 
Leads forth His armies with triumphal palms 
And hymning Hallelujahs, while His foes 
Are crush'd before Him, and Himself assumes 
The sceptre of His rightful universe." 

So Oriel spake; and while he spake mine eye 
Moved not from reading his; such glorious thoughts, 
Passing his own angelic tongue to' express, 
Were written on his countenance. The more 
He spake to me, the more I long'd to know, 970 

And fain methought had listen'd on and on 
In raptured audience evermore. But now 
After sweet interval in which he touch'd 
The light chords of what seem'd a golden lute, 
And to spontaneous gushing melodies 
Sang from heaven's psalter one of those refrains 
Whose faint far echo ravish'd David's soul ; — 
This ended, he turn'd to me and besought, 
As he had open'd things unknown by me, 
I would vouchsafe his earnest suit, and tell 980 

What he had watch'd and guarded from without 
But knew not from within, — my spirit's life 
From its first dawn to noon : this he. besought 
With such unfeign'd humility, such grace, 
Making it easy to refuse or grant, 
That all my bosom open'd to his love, 
So far as one may know another. Depths 
There are in all. no creature eye can read, 
Sacred to God. But, as I told him all 



VIII.] THE CHURCH MILITANT. 285 

That love may ask of perfect confidence, 990 

Our hearts were knit for ever. I henceforth 

Had claims on him who thus drank in my words, 

A mute rapt listener. As the astronomer, 

Who on the starry heavens the livelong night 

[las gazed unwearied, in the dewy dawn 

Returning homeward, plucks a simple flower, 

Primrose, or cowslip, or anemone, 

And in its tender beauties peering finds 

More calm delight than in those mighty orbs 

With all their pendent satellites : so then 1000 

My guardian with an elder brother's joy 

Rested upon me in his love, the while 

I told the humble story of my heart. 

How long might there elapse of earthly time, 
As thus upon that mountain range we sate 
Communing, I knew not. But suddenly 
A clear deep musical sound about us breathed, 
Like to a silver trumpet blown far off, 
From rocks to distant rocks reverberate, 
As though the hills, instinct with harmony, 1010 

Themselves were live and vocal. And my guide 
Sprang to his feet, and gazed intently' and long 
Upon the blissful Paradise that smiled 
Beneath us, while a flush of eager joy 
Crimson'd his cheek, and quick words from his lips 
Dropp'd hurriedly, — u Brother, this is the first 
Of the three trumpet signals fore-announced, 
That usher in the long-expected close. 



286 THE CHURCH MILITANT. [BOOK VIII. 

The first portends our tryst on yonder plains ; 

The second our ascent beneath the sword 1020 

Of Gabriel to the confines of the earth ; 

The third, the Bridal of the Lamb. But now 

They need our presence yonder. Let us go." 

So saying, again he took my hand in his ; 
And swifter than the light of morn we pass'd 
Down from those airy battlements, and soon, 
Albeit the intervening space was far 
As Atlas from the snowy Himalays, 
Rejoin'd the multitudes of the redeem'd 
With angels intermingled, rapidly 1030 

From every distant realm of Paradise 
Within what seem'd one endless vale of flowers 
Assembling, joy in every bounding step 
And love past utterance stamp'd on every brow. 



END OF THE EIGHTH BOOK. 




Bosk N mtjj. 

THE BRIDAL OP THE LAMB. 

mystery of love, whose simplest signs 
Are hieroglyphics of another tongue 
Love only can interpret,' from a babe's 
First smile of joyance at its mother's voice, 
To the warm ruddy glow of frostless age ; 
A web of heavenly warp and earthly woof; 
Affections twined, and intertwined ; gold threads 
Woven, unwoven, and again rewove ; 

Links riveted, and loosen'd, and relink'd, 
Imperishable all, — what shall I say ? 10 

How speak of thee in language worthy thee ? 
My spirit is willing, but my flesh is weak. 

1 see thee through a glass but darkly, — beams 
From the great Fontal Orb of love, which shone, 
Ere the foundations of the heavens were laid, 
Self-luminous, self-centred, self-contain'd, 



288 THE BTtlDAL OF THE LAMB. [BOOK 

In its own increate immensity, 

Perfect, incomprehensible, Triune ; 

But which in fulness of the age of ages 

Brake effluent forth, the exuberance of life 20 

Creative, till the universe of things 

Rose underneath the hand of God, instinct 

With His own nature, sinless, undefined ; 

And, when foreseen but not the less abhorr'd 

Evil arose from good, and cast its pall, 

The pall of death, over the birth of life, 

Which, not one ray of glory quench'd or dimm'd, 

Ceased not to shine, immutably the same, 

Through clouds of judgment and quick flames of wrath 

On worlds perplex'd with tempest. Holy love, 30 

Which out of that corrupt creation deignedst 

To build a new creation incorrupt, 

And link thyself thereto by sinless bands 

Incarnate, that Godhead to manhood join'd, 

And through mankind to all material worlds 

(Wondrous espousals), might at last present 

His chosen Bride in virgin white array'd 

Before the Eternal Throne : — how shall I speak 

Thy fulness, who can scarce conceive thy least? 

How gaze upon the sun, when one bright beam 40 

Dazzles my feeble sight ? Spirit of love, 

Hear me, who humbly supplicate thine aid ; 

That which is gross in me, ethereal ize ; 

That which in me is carnal, spiritualize ; 

That which is earthly, elevate to heaven ; 

The weak enable, and the dark illume, 



IX.J THE BRIDAL OK THE LAMB. 289 

Till love, which is of God, abides in me, 
And I abide in God, for God is love. 

Oh, precious foretaste of the feast at hand ! 
Oh, blessed prelibation of the draughts 50 

Of everlasting joy ! When I return'd 
With Oriel from our lonely mountain watch 
To that fast-filling vale of Paradise, 
Who first of all those white-robed multitudes 
Should greet me, but my own, my sainted wife, — 
Her spirit like mine dismantled of the flesh, 
But radiant with the likeness of her Lord ; 
Our infant cherubs clinging to her skirts, 
The mother with the children (how not so?); 
And by her one whom I had seen, but scarce 6u 

Remember'd, till his grateful smile revived 
The memory of his watcli the night I died ? 
My wife — yet deem not by that name, her soul 
Had not put off its earthly, and put on 
Its heavenly. In a moment I was 'ware 
She was for ever altogether mine : 
Not spouse, but what is symbolized by spouse ; 
Not consort, but what consort typifies ; 
The meaning now made fact ; the ideal here 
Transparent in our real unity ; 70 

A reflex glory' and image of myself; 
An help meet for me in the house of God. 
Oh, never in her loveliest on earth 
Of bud or bloom appear'd she lovely* as now ; 
Nor ever had I loved her as this hour, 



290 THE BRIDAL OF THE LAilB. [BOOK 

When hanging on my neck, as she was wont, 
She look'd up with her tender pleading face, 
And sobb'd for very ecstasy, not grief, 
" My husband ! " This was all, but this was heaven. 

Nor was there longer interval for muse, 80 

Ere Gabriel with a royal retinue, 
Passing, as .-so it chanced, adown those ranks, 
Amid those princely hierarchs a prince, 
Advanced to meet us : — majesty of rule 
Engraven on his awful brow and mien, 
Temper'd with grace ; and military power, 
Mix'd with such gentleness as might beseem 
The Bridegroom's friend. With open hand and heart 
He hail'd us, and to Oriel spake, and said, 
"Yonder midway, where trends towards the right bo 
This happy vale, brother, assign thy group, 
Till the next trumpet sound. The time is short." 

So saying he pass'd, he and his gorgeous suite. 
And as he said, we did. Whither arrived 
I stood a brief space gazing right and left, 
Fulfill'd with joy. Far as the eye could reach, 
Stretch'd that illimitable valley, named 
In flowery Paradise the Vale of Flowers: 
For here whatever Eden's walks could boast 
Of fair or fragrant, asphodel or rose, 100 

Lily or orange bloom, or citron fruit, 
Myrrh, spikenard, cinnamon, or frankincense, 
Grew in tenfold luxuriance unsurpass'd, 



IX.] THE BRIDAL OF THE LAMB. 2iU 

Fearlessly opening to that crystal light 

Its perfume and its purity. But now 

Nor flower nor fruit could fix the lingering eye : 

For here in numbers without number flock'd 

The saints of every age ; the Bride was here, 

Clothing herself with light ; no bower of bliss 

But hither sent its blessed habitants : 110 

So shrill the archangel's clarion rang through heaven 

They came in multitudinous throngs ; but soon 
Celestial order reign'd, nor one appear'd 
But necessary where he stood, albeit 
Wide gaps were here and there discernible, 
Room, as I deem'd for struggling saints on earth, 
We without them not perfect. But behold, 
More frequent every moment were the shouts 
Along the victor armies, welcoming 
Saints newly' arrived from earth. For now their foes, 120 
Knowing they stood upon the brink of fate, 
Redoubled their blind rage. Disguise was not : 
The dust instead of water drank in blood ; 
And fiery persecution in all lands 
Lit up the lurid flames of hell. The whole 
Creation in birth-pangs travail'd and groan'd ; 
While Satan inly tortured, with a fiend's 
Dark jealousy contemplating the power 
Of Baalim and envious Ashtaroth, 
Though by himself advanced, as yet subserved 130 

Their banded domination. Antichrist, 
All hollow subterfuges cast aside, 



292 THE BRIDAL OF THE LAMB. [liOOK 

Usurp'd the throne of Christ. And there was woe 

Intense, insufferable, such as earth 

Saw never, such as heaven shudder'd to see. 

For as these tidings came, and every hour 

Disclosed some new atrocity of crime, 

The language of all hearts, angels and saints, 

Thrilling with cries of martyr'd innocents, 

Sweird in one tide of prayer adown that vale, 140 

And clomb the highest heavens — " Arise, Lord ! 

Arise, God of vengeance, show Thyself! 

Make bare Thine arm, and lift Thy glittering spear! 

Awake, awake, Almighty One ! How long 

Shall the ungodly triumph, and Thy foes 

Trample Thy heritage beneath their feet ? 

How long, Eternal, tarriest Thou ? Arise ! 

Jehovah, God of vengeance, show Thyself!" 

And He, whose ear is never heavy, heard ; 
And He, who never slumbers, woke. But yet 150 

A transitory pause, a breathing space, 
A silence terrible as sound before, 
Until a cry of anguish and alarm 
Rose from the lowest vaults of Tartarus, 
"Alas ! the dreadful day of wrath has come." 

It pass'd, and silence reign'd. And far and near 
Messiah's Presence, though unseen, was felt 
Amongst us, shedding secret power on all. 
Angels on saints, and saiuts on angels look'd 
Expectant; when lo, Gabriel by command 160 



EX."] THE BRIDAL OF THE LAMB. 293 

Put to his lips the trump of God, and blew 

A blast so long and clear and musical, 

That none drew breath until its echoes ceased. 

And straightway, eveu as we were, we rose 

(So rises from an Alpine vale the mist 

At daybreak by the golden sun allured) 

Self-poised, or rather by the Spirit upborne 

Into that ambient atmosphere of light, 

Angels and principalities and thrones 

Mingling and ministrant. Slowly we rose 170 

Towards the upper gates of Paradise, 

Gates of pellucid pearl, which as we near'd 

Seem'd to dilate themselves, the while our hosts, 

Myriads abreast, pass'd through them singing songs 

Of irrepressible joy, or friend with friend 

Sweetly communing. Eagerly I ask'd 

Of her, who like a sunbeam moved beside me, 

What had befallen our sweet lambs, since I 

Their shepherd left them in the wilderness 

These many years ; for years I found had flown, 180 

While I, unconscious of their flight, had hung 

On Oriel's lips, or follow'd where he led. 

Let it suffice that all had faithful stood, 

Much tried, much toiling, but all leal and true, 

And children's children walking as they walk'd. 

Thus all along*that bright ravine we moved, 
Expanded to what seem'd an hundredfold 
1 ts former breadth upon our easy march 
Ascending, nor too sw'ftly for the flight 



294 THE BRIDAL OF THE LAMB. [BOOK 

Of the innumerable babes, that swell'd 190 

That vast procession of the sons of God, 

And with their innocent rapture woke new joy 

In all. But now, this zone of mist traversed, 

Forth issuing from its roseate avenue 

Into the open firmament we pass'd, 

And unimpeded held our way, — as though 

That nebulous belt of stars, that girdles heaven, 

Were seen moving among the other orbs, 

And with a closer cincture binding earth. 

How diverse from my last descent, alone 200 

With Oriel and his courier seraphim, 

Down this celestial roadway, to a world 

I knew not, lit with passing splendors ! Now 

It seem'd as heaven itself were scaling heaven 

For love, not war. 

But half remains untold. 
While thus along the star-paved firmament 
The Bride, awaken'd from the holy rest 
Of ages, hasten'd to her mother earth, 
There to assume her hymeneal robes, 
And, with the residue of God's elect 210 

Made perfect, wait the advent of her Lord, 
Himself the Bridegroom on the right of power, 
Where in the heaven of heavens He sate embosom'd 
Rose in His awful Majesty, and deign'd 
Ascend the chariot of Omnipotence, 
Borne onward by cherubic shapes. 



LX,] THE BRIDAL OF THE LAMB. 295 

As when 
To the lone seer, by Chebar's waves exiled, 
There came dense cloud and whirlwind from the North, 
And fiery wreaths of flame, fold within fold, 
And brightness as of glowing amber round 220 

Those living creatures inexpressible, 
Of human form apparent, clad with wings 
Of Seraphim, like burning coals of fire 
Or lamps or lightnings flashing to and fro, 
Straight moving where the Spirit will'd : beneath 
Wheels rush'd, set with innumerable eyes, 
Wheel within wheel of beryl, and instinct 
With One pervading Spirit ; and overhead 
The firmament of crystal, terrible 

In its transparent brightness stretch'd : they rose 230 
And lo, the rushing of their wings appear'd 
The roll of mighty waters, or the shout 
Of countless multitudes : but, when the voice 
Of God above them sounded eminent, 
Straightway they stood and droop'd their awful wings ; 
And far above the firmament, behold 
The likeness of a sapphire throne ; and tli^re, 
Mysterious presage of the Incarnate, shor.»j; 
The likeness of a Man. Human He was 
In every lineament, yet likest God, 240 

Flame-girdled, like a sardine stone afire, 
Pure bright amid impenetrable dark, 
Insufferably radiant, till it wrote 
Mercy's great symbol on the clouds of wrath, 



296 TRK BRIDAL OF THE LAMB. [BOOK 

And with its arch of soften'd rainbow hues, 
Gold, emerald, and vermilion spann'd the throne. 

Thus came He to that solitary seer. 
But who of men or angels can relate 
His coming with the sanctities of heaven, 
This day of His espousals ? Such estate 350 

And pomp and presence, as might best comport 
With Filial Majesty, Supreme, Divine, 
Were round about Him pour'd. Eternal love, 
Rejoicing in its well Beloved, breathed 
New raptures o'er His blessed countenance ; 
While in His Father's glory and His own, 
By thousand times ten thousand ministries 
Attended, through the holiest heaven of heavens 
He came, and through the multitudinous maze 
Of jubilant constellations. But, or ever 260 

His armies, following underneath the sign 
Of Michael's archangelic standard, touch'd 
The confines of the sun's crystalline sphere 
-Earthward descending, on the other side 
The hosts of the redeom'd, by Gabriel led, 
Advancing from the opposite aspect, 
Not without songs of triumph heard far off, 
Stood on what seemM the nether edge of spac< 
Bordering earth's airy firmament. So stood 
Israel aforetime, from the ocean depths 270 

Emerging, by the clouds of spray baptized, 
Beside the marge of Idumea's sea, 



IX.] THE BRIDAL OF THE LAMB. 297 

And sang the song of Moses to the sound 

Of Miriam's timbrel, or disposed themselves 

In loose array along those hoary rocks 

Fretted by waves, which here and there cast up 

The bodies of their late blaspheming foes. 

Not otherwise that hour nor with less joy 

We, all invisible to mortal sight, 

Enwrapp'd the circling earth from pole to pole, 2»0 

A thin pure veil of disembodied spirits 

(Scarcely less subtle than the luminous hair, 

Dishevell'd, streaming from a comet's brow, 

Through which the faintest star shines on undimm'd,) 

And nearing now our birth-land, at a word 

That with electric speed circled the globe, 

Bore downward through the realms of air (as once 

The lambent fiery tongues of Pentecost 

Fell straight from heaven) where waited each the germ, 

Once sown in weakness, to be raised in power. 290 

The motion was as thought. Howbeit nor I, 

Nor any, lost one moment's consciousness. 

It was a village churchyard where I lighted, 

My wife, my babes, beside me, on the left 

My parents, and my chasten'd sister's spirit, 

Our angel guardians hanging on our steps. 

But, even as we touch'd the solid earth, 

The Lord Himself descended with a shout, 

Loud as of torrent floods, into mid-heaven, 

His bright cherubic chariot veil'd in clouds 30(7 

Of dazzling glory. And at His command 

The voice of Michael, like the knell of doom, 



298 THE BRIDAL OF THE LAMB. [BOOK 

Broke on the slumbers of a guilty world, 

And on the last conspiracies of hell ; 

And flashes of incessant lightnings wrapp'd 

The incandescent sky from East to West, 

Where night was, making night itself as noon, 

And where was day, blinding the sun with light : 

A thunder sound, but no articulate words ; 

A lightning glory, but no lineaments 310 

Apparent to the habitants of earth, 

Save on the hills of Zion, where the tribes 

Of Israel, gather'd from all lands and seas, 

Heard what the nations heard not, and beheld, 

Astonied, Him whom they had pierced ; — as once 

To Saul, alone of all that stricken band, 

His persecuted Lord appear'd and spake. 

But now Gabriel a third time blew his trump, 

Given him from the celestial sanctuary 

Against this Bridal hour. And in a glimpse, 320 

In the individual twinkling of an eye, 

The ground, on which we stood, trembled and clave ; 

And I, a sense of rapture like new life 

Through every limb discoursing, found myself 

Apparell'd in celestial robes, what once 

Was mortal clothed in immortality, 

What was corrupt in incorruption lost. 

So were all clad. But angel whispers now 

Spake welcomes scarcely audible ; for still 

The echoes of the Bridal trump rang out, 330 

And still the Bridegroom's voice resounded, and 

Straightway, as if the altar of the earth 



IX.] TIIE BRIDAL OF THE LAMb. 299 

Exhaled one cloud of iuceiise, we rose up 

Towards the sapphire throne ; but scarce had riseii, 

Ere thousand times ten thousand living saints, 

Changed and transfigured, from all lands and seas. 

Like Enoch and Elias, without death 

Achieving deathless life, translated ,rose 

And swell'd our soaring multitudes, and fill'd 

Whate'er was wanting to the Bride. Behold 340 

The Church of the Firstborn at last complete ! 

The while, with Hallelujahs on our lips, 

Still on and on towards the throne we swept 

Through the aerial regions, every eye 

Bent on the King, and every instant rich 

With new delights ; until His hosts and ours 

Seem'd two fraternal armies edge to edge 

Approaching, nothing save His car of fire 

Flashing prismatic flames betwixt. As when 

(If such celestial mysteries may bear 350 

Earthly comparison, nor suffer loss), 

Emergent from his eastern couch, the sun 

Pours forth at last his horizontal beams 

Between two bauks of clouds, above, below, 

Rubied with light, a flood of golden day, 

Till closing round his chariot they imbibe 

The full effulgence of his ardent wheels, 

Leaving the hills in gloom : so clustering round 

Messiah, who descended from His throne 

To greet us, as the bridegroom greets the bride, — 360 

Love omnipresent, inexpressible, 

Welcoming aK as each, and each as all, — 



300 THE BRIDAL OF THE LAMB. [BOOK 

We from His smile drank in beatitudes 
Beyond all words to picture. But what more 
Befell us in those high aerial realms 
Was closely mantled from unholy gaze. 

Earth trembled at the sudden night. The Bride 
Was not. They sought her, but she was not found ; 
And for a space in mute amaze men ask'd 
Each of his fellow, where were those they loathed, 370 
Yet loathing feard? But soon far other scenes 
Engross'd all hearts : for lo, great Babylon 
Trembled, as smitten with the curse of God, 
And fell in ruinous heaps, and sank, as sinks 
A millstone in the mighty waters, down 
Into a dreadful chasm of fire, which oped 
Beneath her battlements, while overhead 
The sky rain'd burning sulphur, till the smoke 
Of her great torment clomb into the heavens; 
And all her merchants standing far aloof, ISO 

Bewail'd her, casting dust upon their heads. 
But not on Satan and his peers that hour 
The wrath-beam fell : whereat greatly rejoiced 
The rebel triad, and, embolden'd more 
By what had cow'd less than infernal pride, 
From every shore their thronging armies drew, 
Weening to' erect, where Zion's temple stood, 
The throne of wickedness, and set thereon 
The proud son of perdition, in whose breast 
They three might tabernacle, as the Arch-fiend, 390 
Sole monarch, once in wretched Judas dwelt. 



IX.] THE BRIDAL OF THE LAMB. 301 

There was a sound of weeping on the slopes 
Of Zion, not the children's hungry cry, 
Or wail of women over slaughter'd babes, 
Or the loud groans of linked prisoners, 
Albeit the eagles of destruction swoop'd 
Wheeling in ever nearer circles o'er 
Emmanuel's land. Their hour was not yet come. 
But all the air breathed sadness. Sobs and sighs, 
Vainly suppress'd, were heard in every home. 400 

A nation was in tears. For they had seen 
Their Prince the Lord of glory, and had heard 
Him saying, " I am Jesus, whom ye pierced," 
And, pierced themselves, in bitterness of soul 
Mourn'd for Him, as men mourn an only son, 
Mourning in solitude ; or, if they met, 
None to his fellow spake except in sighs, 
And smiting on his breast would go his way. 
But one among them moved, of nobler mien, 
Veiling in mortal guise immortal power, 410 

And like another Baptist bow'd all hearts, 
Priests, people, parents, children, as one man, 
Till, gazing on the cross their fathers rear'd, 
Israel beheld the Crucified and lived. 

Such things were wrought on earth. But who of 
saints 
Or seraphs may with chasten'd reverence 
Disclose what holy mysteries ensued 
Within the veil, when now the rest withdrawn 
Past earshot, not beyond angelic view. 



302 THE BRIDAL OP THE LAMB. [BOOK 

Retiring till their robes and wings and crowns 420 

Appear'd as hangings wov'n of richest dyes 

Star-spangled, like the temple curtains twined 

With purple, crimson, blue, and gleaming forms 

Cherubic curiously traced in gold, 

The Bridegroom met the Bride alone ? Himself 

hi glorified humanity supreme, 

Incarnate Light : and she like Him in glory, 

No spot or wrinkle on her holy brow, 

No film upon her robes ot dazzling white, 

Most beautiful, most glorious : every saint 430 

Perfect in individual perfectness ; 

And each to each so fitly interlink'd, 

Join'd and compact, their countless millions seem'd 

One body by One Spirit inspired and moved, 

The various members knit in faultless grace, 

The feeblest as the strongest necessary, 

Xor schism, nor discord, nor excess, nor lack ; 

The Ideal of all beauty realized, 

The Impersonation of delight and love. 

And the Lord look'd on her ; and in His Eye 440 
Beam'd admiration infinite, Divine. 
She was His chosen, His elect. When cast 
Abroad a foundling infant in her blood, 
Hers was the time of love: no eye but I lis 
Had pity: but He took her to His heart, 
And nurtured all her helpless infancy, 
And taught her gentle childhood, and at last 
Betroth'd her virgin beauty to Himself, 



IX.J THE BRIDAL OF THE LAMB. 303 

And, being that another clairu'd her life, 

Had with His heart's blood ransom'd her from death, 

For her descending from His throne to die, [450 

Aud re-ascending to prepare her home, 

Had won her tender maidenhood to long 

For this chaste Bridal. Now His time was come ; 

And all her coy and childish bashfulness 

Had ripen'd into womanly reserve. 

Pure and intense affection o'er her threw 

A veil of soften'd light. To share His throne 

Was little in her eyes, whose glory' it was 

To hear Him whisper, " My beloved is Mine," 430 

To lean upon His bosom, and reflect 

The sunshine of His everlasting joy. 

And still He look'd on her ; and silently 
Drank in her beauty, as once Adam look'd 
On Eve, till underneath His searching Eye, 
Conscious of loving, confident of love, 
Quick flushes of delight suffused her heart 
And shed new charms about her, when it seem'd 
(I speak of heavenly things in earthly words'* 
As if He drew her nearer to Himself, 470 

And folded her to His Eternal breast, 
And spake to her, and said, " My love, My dove • 
My beauty be upon thee. Thou art Mine. 
Thou art all fair. There is no spot in thee." 

When in the nether Paradise He stamp'd 
Me with the impress of His gaze of love, 



304 THE BRIDAL OP THE LAMB. [l*()OK 

My cup, methought, ran over, nor could hold 

Another crystal joy. But now His Spirit 

Empower'd my spirit to receive new streams 

Of gladness, which from all sides flow'd on me. 480 

The throbbing pulses of the Brid e's great heart 

Seem'd from the joy, that coursed through every vein, 

To gather new intensity ®f life, 

While glowing, like the morning sky, she blush'd 

Beneath the sun-smile of His holiness, 

Who look'd on her, revealing evermore 

New wonders of unfathomable grace, 

'rrace blent with glory, tenderness with truth, 

Light without shade of dark, love without end. 

Wife of the Lamb, known only by His name 490 

Oh finite image of the Infinite : 
Oh holy creaturehood, perfect at last : 
Oh true Self raised to true unselfishness, 
Living for Him alone, who is thy life, 
All and in all for Him as He for God. 

But now, at secret signal from Himself, 
The saints dispersing, like a golden cloud 
Of incense blown among the orange groves, 
In twos or threes, or groups, as liked them best, 
He walking in the midst, to each and all 500 

Most affable and most accessible, 
Held converse : and the angels gather'd round, 
Rejoicing greatly for the Bridegroom's joy, 
And soon at His permissive voice disposed 



IX.] THE BRIDAL OF THE LAMB. 

And piled the banquet of His love with fruits 
And nectar from ambrosial vines distill'd. 



Then first, for interval ere this was none, 
Turning I look'd upon my wife to read 
My immortality of bliss in hers 

Reflected. O my God, the glad surprise 510 

Thou hadst prepared for us ! Never in thought 
Or dream or waking vision had such bloom, 
As I in her, and she in me beheld, 
Floated across our meditative eye. 
Our spiritual body was the same in type, 
In face and form and fashion, as on earth, 
Yet not the same, — transfigured: suited this 
For the quick motions of the new-born spirit, 
As that for all the functions of the flesh ; 
Obedient to our faintest wish, as was 520 

Sometime the disembodied soul ; yea, more, 
So willingly responsive, that it woke 
Wish to exert, where exercise itself 
Was pleasure. Would I speak, my tongue was fain 
And language copious, yet precise and clear, 
Embracing all the loftiest thoughts enshrined 
In all earth's dialects, flow'd from my lips 
Spontaneously, catching the finer tints 
Of mingled light and shade, like photographs 
Of contemplation. Would I touch my harp, 530 

The very touch was music, and enticed 
Melodious words. The opening eye drank in 
Such scenes of beauty, and the listening ear 
20 



3U6 THE BRIDAL OF THE LA.MB. [BOOK 

Such trancing harmonies, audience and sight 

Seem'd sweet necessity. Or would I move, 

Volition, without wings, or nimble tread 

Of footsteps, wafted my aerial form, 

Swifter than sunbeams glance from East to West, 

Whithersoe'er I would, as mortals move 

Their hand or foot by motion of swift thought. 540 

A body meet for heaven, as that for earth ; 

One from the other nascent : that the root, 

This the fair flower : even as the hyacinth, 

With its pavilion of green leaves, and wealth 

Of blossom and rose-tinted petals, springs 

From a dull dismal bulb, which none who saw, 

And knew not of its latent power, could dream 

The cradle of such loveliness, yet each 

Meet for its home, for the rain-nurtured soil, 

And the soft kisses of the playful air ; 550 

And each to each indissolubly join'd. 

And when instinctively we raised our eyes 
From contemplation of the heavenly forms, 
Now ours for ever, to the Prince we loved, 
To thank Him who had made us thus, behold 
These bodies of our glory could sustain 
More of His glory than the naked spirit ; 
Our pure affections His affections clasp'd ; 
And every power within us had some hold 
On His omnipotence. Like imaged like. 560 

And, as with us, so was it with the rest : 
To all a vast promotion of their bliss, 



IX.] THE BRIDAL OF THE LAMB. 307 

To each the increase, as each scw'd on earth. 
Love only can know love. And as they loved, 
They knew Him. As they knew Him, they return 'd 
His lineaments of beatific light : 
So glory is proportionate to grace. 

But, hearken, now a concert of sweet sounds 
On all sides imperceptibly arose, 

From twice ten thousand flutes the ravish'd air 570 

Soliciting, and whispering in all hearts, 
The marriage supper of the Lamb was come. 
And, even as we were, we saw what seem'd 
A banquet of all heavenly fruits and food, 
And chalices of crystal wreath'd with flowers, 
Before us. ' And what seem'd, was there. And lo, 
The Prince, at once our Minister and Host, 
Assign'd to each his festal couch, whereon 
No sooner were the happy guests recline 
Than He Himself crown'd every cup with joy, 580 

And charged attendant seraphim to keep 
The tables loaded with the choicest bloom 
Celestial walks could yield. They, nothing loath, 
Bore from the Paradise of God such rich 
Exuberance of vernal promise, mix'd 
With the ripe fruits of summer (for in heaven 
Summer and spring dance ever hand in hand), 
As heaven itself had never seen till now 
Pluck'd in one hour and on one board profuse, 
Yet presently repair'd its gift, nor seem'd 591 

The poorer. These the blessed angels piled, 



308 THE BRIDAL OF THE LAMB. [BOOK 

In large unsparing hospitality, 

Before the presence of their guests. Nor lack'd 

Greetings, nor glad surprises, nor fond eyes 

Flashing their welcome to beloved ones round : 

Whether the bliss of guardian spirits or saints 

"Was greater, whether children most rejoiced 

In parents, or their parents most in them, 

I know not : this I know, all hearts were full. 

Angels and principalities and thrones 600 

Confess'd, they never tasted joy like this ; 

While youthful cherubs without number flew, 

Shaking a dewy fragrance from their wings, 

And in their rosy fingers bore to each 

Some token of the Royal grace. And soon 

The genial flow of converse, like the sound 

Of many waters heard far off, appear'd 

A multitudinous tide of mirth and love. 

The crystal river of eternal life 
Flows ever deeper on ; and since that hour, 610 

It may be, I have witness'd other scenes 
Of majesty and grandeur more august ; 
But purer rapture could not be. The first 
Unfolding of the blossom to the sun ; 
The leaping of the spring, when first unseaPd ; 
The young bride's incommunicable joy, 
When first the words, My husband, cross her lips ; 
The first babe folded to the mother's heart ; 
These have a rapture all their own. And we, 
Methinks, of that delicious feast of love 620 



IX.] THE BRIDAL OF THE LAMB. 309 

Had never wearied (half a week of years 

As meted by the sun, so I have heard, 

Pass'd by the while: they only seein'd like days), 

But now Messiah rising from His throne, 

In the calm awe of His Omnipotence, 

Address'd us, saying, 

"My Father's will be done. 
His will is Mine. The fated hour has struck 
Of battle. On mine ears but now there fell 
The short sharp cry of Israel's travail-pangs. 
Come with Me, saints and angels, and behold 63u 

My foes and yours prostrate beneath our feet. 
Now is the day of vengeance in My heart, 
And now the year of My redeem'd is come." 

He spake ; and lo, that festive scene of love 
Quickly appear'd a camp of mustering war, 
From whose cerulean gates, wide open thrown, 
Messiah seated on a snow-white horse 
Of fiery brightness, as the Lord of hosts, 
Apparell'd in a vesture dipp'd in blood, 
And many crowns upon His sacred head, 640 

Rode conquering and to conquer forth. And those, 
Who lately at His marriage feast reclined, 
Appear'd an army, clothed in robes of white, 
And mounted like their Lord on steeds of fire, 
A glorious retinue. On either side, 
Like wings of light-arm'd troops, innumerable, 
The hosts of angels, ranged in order, march 'd, 



310 THE BRIDAL OF THE LAMB. [BOOK 

And, as they march'd, to sound of martial trumps, 
Pour'd forth prophetic strains of Jubilee : 

" Hail, Prince of life ! Hail, virgin Princess, hail ! ti50 
Thou fairer than the sons of men, Thy lips 
Drop with the fragrant honey-dews of grace, 
For God, Thy God, hath blessed Thee for ever. 
Almighty, gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh. 
Ride, in Thy Majesty, Thy glory, forth : 
In truth, in meekness, and in righteousness 
Ride on and prosper ! Thy right hand alone 
Shall teach Thee deeds of vengeance, and Thy shafts 
Shall drink the life-blood of Thy vaunting foes. 
Thy throne, O God, from everlasting years *i»>o 

Hath been, and is, and shall for ever be. 
Thy sceptre is a rod of righteousness. 
Right loves Thee, and wrong dreads Thee : wherefore 

God, 
Thy God, anoints Thee with the oil of joy 
Immeasurable. From Thy Bridal feast 
Thou ridest forth to conquer ; whiles Thy robes 
Of myrrh and cassia smell and mingled spice, 
And love and gladness glisten in Thine eye. 
Blessed Bridegroom ! O thrice-blessed Bride ! 
Happy art thou, O fairest among women. 670 

Follow where triumph waits thee. All thy tears 
Shall be forgotten in thy Husband's smile, 
Resting upon thy perfect loveliness : 
Thy Husband is the Lord, the Lord of hosts. 
And be it ours in countless multitudes 



EX. J THE BRIDAL OF THE LAMB. 311 

To throDg around thy steps, and lavish love 

On the Beloved of the Lord we love : 

Until the palaces of glory, fill'd 

With ever-during infinite delights, 

Receive thee in their golden gates, and there, 880 

Peerless Queen-consort of the King of kings, 

Thy virgin ministries about thee drawn, 

Thou dwellest in His mansions evermore, 

Sharing His throne, and from the well of life 

Diffusest living streams through earth and heaven." 



END OF THE NINTH BOOK. 




Book GTnttij. 

THE MILLENNIAL SABBATH. 

A Sabbath morn — softly the village bells 

Ring out their welcome to the sacred day. 

The weary swain has drunk of longer sleep, 

And now, his children clustering round him, leads 

The happy group from under his low porch 

And through their little garden, where each plucks 

A rose or pansy, to the school they love : 

The busy hum delights his ear ; and soon 

The morning hymn floats heavenward ; but himself, 

Holding the youngest prattler in his arms, 10 

Waits in the churchyard, where about him lie 

His father and his father's fathers, till, 

The children following in their pastor's steps 

Whose gray locks flutter in the summer breeze, 

All pass beneath the hallow'd roof, and all 

Kneeling, where generations past have knelt, 



THE MILLENNIAL SABBATH. 313 

Pour forth their common wants in common prayer 

A rural Sabbath — nearest type of heaven : 

Yet scarcely less beloved in toilworn courts 

And alleys of the city. What true heart 20 

Loves not the Sabbath? that dear pledge of home ; 

That try sting-place of God and man : that link 

Betwixt a near eternity and time ; 

That almost lonely rivulet, which flows 

From Eden through the world's wide wastes of sand 

Uncheck'd, and though not unalloy'd with earth 

Its healing waters all impregn'd with life, 

The life of their first blessing, to pure lips 

The memory of a bygone Paradise, 

The earnest of a Paradise to come. 30 

Who know thee best, love best, thou pearl of days. 

And guard thee with most jealous care from morn 

Till dewy evening, when the ceaseless play 

Hour after hour of thy sweet influences 

Has tuned the heart of pilgrims to the songs 

And music of their heavenly fatherland. 

But mortal ears are heavy', and mortal eyes 

Catch only glimpses dim and indistinct 

Of things unseen, beauteous but far away ; 

Enough to quicken, but not satiate love : 40 

And the soon weary spirit exhausted sighs 

For wings to flee away and be at rest, 

Or solaces its musings, there remains 

A Sabbath for the toiling Church of God. 

It dawn'd at last. But not, as many thought, 
And fabling sang, the amber twilight glowing 



814 THE MILLENNIAL SABBATH. L B00K 

More and more radiant in the Eastern heavens, 

Till almost imperceptibly the sun 

Should glide above the golden hyaline, 

And straightway what remain'd of dark be light. 50 

But rather now the angry thunder-clouds, 

Which for six thousand years in broken drifts 

Had rolPd athwart earth's troubled firmament, 

Portended unexampled storms ; so dark 

The masses of disastrous gloom, that hung 

Over all lands. Was it heaven's blessed light, 

That shone behind and through their sulphurous folds ? 

And could this bloody fiery haze be day ? 

Ah, woe for Zion ! for the hills that rise 
Like ramparts round about Jerusalem ; 60 

Where, as a flock of timid goats or sheep 
Driven by fierce wolves together to one fold 
Ill-fenced for such an onset, Israel cower'd, 
Contrite and crush'd in bitterness of soul ! 
Jerusalem, thy hour is come. Lo, Gog, 
The prince of Rosh, Meshech and TubaPs prince, 
In panoply of impious pride leads forth 
His hungry myriads to Emmanuel's land, 
Gomer and all its swarming multitudes, 
Togarmah and its rugged uncouth hordes, 70 

Elam, and Phut, and Lud, and Javan's isles, 
Asshur, and Shinar, and the tents of Cush, 
Myriads of myriads, numbers numberless, 
From North and South and East, three dreadful hosts, 
The least of which earth never saw the like, 
Muster'd by hell to quench on Zion's heights, 



X.] THE MILLENNIAL SABBATH. 315 

Despite that lonely prophet's words, the last 

Faint glimmering brands of truth. So Satan ween'd, 

And in their aid had gather'd from all lands 

And airy realms, where they in secret wrought, so 

The spirits of ill. Not one was wanting there : 

Foul and obscured by centuries of crime, 

But with unmitigated rage they came, 

Unweeting for their common doom compell'd. 

Scent they afar the field of blood ? for now 

Those chafing hosts, by wrath and lust inspired, 

Like beasts of ravin, burst on Israel's camp, 

And gorge themselves with slaughter. Woe for thee, 

Zion ! woe for thee, Jerusalem ! 

Thy birth-pangs are upon thee ; and thy cries 90 

Reach to the heavens. Jerusalem is fallen. 

The iron rives her heart. Her little ones 

Are dash'd in fury on the cruel rocks. 

Her virgins, and her mothers great with child, 

Speak not of them. Her priests and elders lie, 

Their silvery reverend hair defiled with blood, 

Even where they fell, upon the ghastly hills. 

Fire wraps her ramparts round : the clouds are live 

With vengeance ; and the stars shoot withering flame ; 

And her slain armies block the narrow gates J 00 

And causeways of the city : for the cup 

Of her last agony is in her hand, 

And now she drinks it to the bitter dregs. 

A shout of fiendish triumph ! They have storm'd 
With ruinous battering-rams the temple doors, 



316 THE MILLENNIAL SABBATH. [BOOK 

And now upon the holiest mercy-seat, 

Betwixt the golden cherubim, install 

The proud usurper of Jehovah's name : 

Ajid out of human lips there came a voice, 

Like man's voice, from the trinity of hell 110 

Within that breast, three voices heard as one, 

Most terrible : " This is the hour of fate. 

God has abandon'd earth ; and I assume 

The vacant throne of vanquish'd Deity. 

Worship me, all ye gods." Straightway arose 

The swell of adoration ; and the hosts 

Of darkness, mingling with the sons of men, 

Sang triumph to the three in equal strains, 

" Hail, Satan, Ashtaroth, and Baalim ! 

Triunity of darkness, hail, all hail ! " 120 

But, even as the echoes sank, behold, 

Tyrannic jealousy, too long suppress'd, 

Burst forth, as nitrous powder touch'd by flame, 

In Satan's heart ; — torment intolerable ! — 

Ah, fool ! to think that concord, born of heaven. 

Could bind in lasting league infernal hate ! — 

Thus pondering, — " Was it then for this I left 

My archangelic primacy of light ? 

In realms of darkness to be one of three ? 

One of three only ? I, who know myself 130 

Worthy of monarchy ? Monarch I am, 

And will be : none shall share my gloomy throne, 

Dark, solitary, unapproachable." 

Nor Baalim, meanwhile, that lordly fiend, 



X.] THE MILLENNIAL SABBATH. 317 

Conceived less envy of great Ashtaroth, 

Nor Ashtaroth of him : which Satan saw 

Well pleased, and now dilated rose sublime, 

Hovering on what appear'd cherubic wings, 

Above the clouds, and fostering, as he rose, 

The horrid feud in his associate gods, 140 

Till envy grew to wrath, and wrath to rage, 

And rage to deadly warfare. They, for oft 

Passions with spirits are instantaneous acts, 

And thoughts are deeds, in no unequal strife 

Guile match'd with guile, might militant with might 

Wrestled within that narrow battle-field, 

The impious breast of Antichrist, until 

Their miserable victim foaming writhed 

Convulsed, and strengthless lay as dead ; and then, 

Each on his fellow scowling dire revenge, 150 

Forth from that fleshly tenement they came, 

And parted right and left. Flock'd around each 

An army of the rebel spirits. Swords flash'd 

Infernal fires ; and in the sulphurous air 

The embattled clouds were squadrons lock'd in fight. 

By Satan both infuriate, who thus 

Madly against himself divided fought 

A duel ghastlier far than that which drench'd 

The ramparts of Jerusalem with blood, 

And from the trembling fugitives, who cower'd ice 

Behind Elijah's mantle, wrung the cry, 

"How long, O Lord, how long? Why tarriest Thou?* 

That hour, what time the hideous din of war, 



318 THE MILLENNIAL SABBATH. [BOOS 

Fiends in their fury' o'ershadowiDg furious men, 

Was at its worst, a blast more terrible 

Than all the dread artillery of earth, 

Vomiting iron hail in one discharge, 

Appall'd the firmament. A silence fell 

Sudden, as if all hearts had ceased to beat, 

Upon the madding combatants : and lo, 170 

The sound of distant chariot-wheels was heard 

Rolling in heaven. Nearer and nearer still 

The rush of flaming millions, and the tramp 

Like as of fiery chivalry. But, hark ! 

A voice : it is the shout of God. Behold ! 

A light : it is the glory of the Lord. 

And thither, where the marshall'd hosts of hell 

Opposed the densest gloom, onward He rode 

Almighty, — a devouring fire, — no room 

For flight, no space for idle penitence, 180 

No thought of prayer, no lurking-place to shun 

The lightnings of His omnipresent Eye. 

First as it seeni'd (though sequence in the acts 

Of the Eternal needs not lapse of time) 

Upon the rebel spirits He rain'd His wrath, 

Till from the mightiest to the least they lay 

Under His fiery horse-hoofs crush'd. Of all 

From hell's dark triad singling Baalim 

And Ashtaroth in everlasting chains, 

Chains such as spiritual essences may hold, 190 

These twain He bound, and, stamping with His foot, 

Asunder by the act appear'd to cleave 

Whate'er subtle or solid lay betwixt 



X.] THE MILLENNIAL SABBATH. 319 

His presence and Gehenna's burning floor : 

And in the right hand of Omnipotence 

Grasping huge Baalim, and in the left 

The lustful Ashtaroth, He hurled them down 

Like meteors through the lurid vault, and fix'd 

Their adamantine fetters to a rock 

Of adamant, submerged but unconsumed 200 

Beneath the lake of fire. Nor paused He then, 

But pointing where the vanquish'd Arch-fiend lay 

Crouching in agony, bade Michael seize 

The spiritless spirit of evil, and convoy 

Him and the countless myriads of the lost 

In chains to their Tartarean prison. Straightway 

The God-like chief descending with the key 

Of Hades and a ponderous chain, to which 

Earth's mightiest cable were a strand of tow, 

Grasp'd his dread captive, once his peerless peer 210 

In glory, now his miserable prey, 

And bore him manacled and fetter'd forth, 

And with him his dejected hosts, beneath 

An equal escort of angelic guards, 

To their own place of doom. Oh dreadful march ! 

O yet more dreadful issue ! Hell had seen 

Terrific sights ere now, within her depths 

Receiving hecatombs of dead at once, 

But never ruin like this. For lo, meanwhile 

The King of glory, on the chariot clouds 220 

Riding serene, shot blasts of flaming fire, 

As from a furnace, from His opening lips 

Dn Israel's conquerors. The murderer's arm 



320 THE MILLENNIAL SABBATH. [BOOK 

Was stricken in the very act to strike . 

The ravisher was rapt by death, and lay 

Blasted before his shrieking captive's feet : 

And to the wild and dissonant cries of men, 

Calling upon their gods, the sole response 

Which heaven, too long insulted, now vouchsafed 

Was storm, and tempest, and hot burning coais — 230 

Horrible hail. Nor only on the hills 

Of Judah fell the whirlwind of God's wrath, 

But through all lands and seas (for the whole earth 

From pole to pole was wrapt in clouds and flame) 

Whoever bore the mark of Baalim, 

Or bow'd the knee to Ashtaroth, on him 

The wrath-beam fell, distinguishing the rest 

Who, though they knew not fellowship with God, 

Knew not communion with the spirits of hell. 

Wherefore not ruin'd fiends alone that day 240 

Were captive led captivity, and throng'd 

The roadway to the abysmal pit with groans, 

But with them crowds of disembodied souls, 

Such as till now the portals of the grave 

Had never received, a hideous spectacle, 

Each heart a fathomless profound of woe, 

Each spirit the wreck of everlasting life. 

How art thou fallen, Lucifer, from heaven, 
Son of the Morning ! Hell beneath is moved 
To meet thee at thy coming ; and the dead, 250 

The chiefs and potentates of elder time, 
Stirr'd from the silent calm of their despair, 



X.] THE MILLENNIAL SABBATH. 32 T 

Flock round thee. Narrowly they scan thy face, 
And ask, astonied, " Art thou one of us ? 
All heartless, nerveless, passionless as we ? 
Thou that would'st wrestle with Omnipotence, 
And plant thy seat above the stars of God, 
And soar beyond the azure clouds that veil 
The throne of the Eternal ? " 

Through their ranks 
By Alichael led, with downcast louring looks, 26'- 

Answering them never a word, he slowly pass'd 
To his own place of woe. Over against 
The fissure, where the brazen floor of hell 
Yawn'd to receive his ruin'd mates in guilt, 
And yawning closed again, there was he bound 
In adamantine fetters, and beneath 
The unclouded terrors of the Eye of God. 
And next to him was Moloch, his swarth brow 
Darken'd with tenfold gloom : and next to him 
Mammon, whose boundless wealth of artifice 270 

Purchased no solace in this house of chains : 
And next, ruthless Apollyon, — he who show'd 
No mercy.found none here. Nor far away 
Was Sammael, blind leader of the blind ; 
Nor Lailah, prince of night. But why prolong 
Memorials of the damn'd, or fiends, or men? 
Or measure their immeasurable loss, 
Immeasurable, hopeless, limitless, 
"Who lay in torments, prisoners of wrath, 
Waiting the judgment of the last assize ? 280 

21 



322 THE MILLENNIAL SABBATH. [BOOK 

Meanwhile Messiah, from the tempest clouds 
Descending, calm'd the terrors of His brow, 
And drew His garment of celestial light 
About llim, rainbow-fringed, until His feet 
Rested on Olivet. Beneath Him lay 
Jerusalem in flames, and all the air 
Glow'd with intensity of heat. But lo, 
His people underneath his shadowing wings, 
And hidden in the hollow of His hand, 
The remnant which the sword of war had left, 290 

Felt not the breath of those devouring flames, 
Heard not the roar of those wild cataracts 
Of fire, nor knew what time the solid earth 
Was moved as ocean by the wintry wind. 
They only saw Messiah's glorious form ; 
They only heard His voice ; they only knew, 
As the three children in the burning kiln, 
That they were with their Lord, their Lord with them. 
Other spectators than the Bride were none, 
When now, as once in Egypt's royal courts 300 

Young Joseph drew his brethren to his heart 
And kiss'd and wept upon them tears of joy, 
The Prince of glory veil'd His glory' anew 
In tenderness of most forgiving love. 
But when the dreadful cloud of fire and smoke, 
Which brooded on those hills, was clear'd, beheld 
The mountain of the Lord had risen sublime 
Above the mountains : Olivet was cleft 
Asunder to the North and to the South ; 
And a vast vale, with sudden verdure clad, 310 



X.] THE MILLENNIAL SABBATH. 323 

Stretch'd toward the former and the hinder sea, 

A paradise of fruits. And far aloof 

Mount Zion, marvellous to see, was crown'd 

With a resplendent city (whether this 

"Were the immediate handiwork of God, 

Or of angelic ministries) where shone 

Like g:>ld a temple supereminent 

In dazzling sheen, and thence on either side 

A river of perennial waters flowed 

In ever-deepening waves of crystal life. *20 

The voice o' the Lord is on the waters ! Hark, 
Not now in thunder with red lightnings wing'd, 
Making the everlasting mountains bow 
And the scathed forests shiver : but hark, a Voice 
Is heard above the troubled elements, 
A low clear Voice, which whispers, " Peace, be still." 
And all the winds have sunk to gentle breaths. 
And, as on vex'd Gennesaret of old 
When He rebuked the raging winds and waves, 
There is a mighty calm. The broken clouds 330 

Melt into colors, like a dream. The Sun 
Of righteousness with healing in His wings 
Has risen upon a world weary of night, 
Most glorious, where emergent from the flood, 
That from far Lebanon to Kadesh roll'd 
Its waves of fire baptismal, Zion rose 
In perfect beauty. There the Light of Light 
Entering His temple courts assumed His throne, 
And from the unveil'd golden mercy-seat, 



324 THE MILLENNIAL SABBATH. [BOOK 

His Bride beside Him, and His angel guards 340 

A-bout Him in their radiant phalanxes, 

A pattern on the earth of things in heaven, 

Sent forth His embassies of grace. No shade 

Obscured His beatific countenance ; 

For in that holy temple all was love, 

And in that holy city all was light, 

Which lighten'd, far as human eye could reach, 

The outmost confines of Emmanuel's land. 

Yet deem not of His Presence as restrict 
There only, where those pure Shekinah beams 350 

Gladden'd Jerusalem, nor limited 
By measurable accidents of time, 
Who fills all space Incomprehensible, 
And dwells the Highest in the highest heavens, 
And spans the breadth, and circumscribes the depth. 
Inhabiting eternity. For now, 
While quickening the Millennial earth with life, 
And sending forth ambassadors of peace 
From Zion to all lands and seas, the Prince 
With us, His Bride, was custom'd to withdraw, 360 

Where far above the clouds His throne was set 
Within the purple curtains of the sky, 
But lower than the starry heavens, and there 
Commune with us of all the solemn past 
And all the dawning future. One by one 
We stood before Him. One by one He spake 
With us, conversing of our mortal life 
And heavenly home ; and words of grateful praise, 



X.] THE MILLENNIAL SABBATH. 325 

As the fidelity of each appear'd, 

Fell from His lips. Nor were His servants' falls 370 

Wrong done and good undone, conceal'd that day : 

But being all was now forgiven and cleansed, 

And being it was the Bridegroom's Eye that judged, 

And being we were members of one Bride, 

Brothers and sisters in one home of love, 

The retrospect but bound us, each and all, 

Closer to Him who wash'd us in His blood, 

And closer to each other, when we saw 

Our debt of service by another paid. 

For envy had no foothold there. Pure love, 380 

Beaming upon regenerate spirits, had left 

No film of that pollution. What was most 

For His eternal glory whom we loved, 

And for our brethren's purest happiness, 

FulfilPd ail hearts with rapture to the brim, 

And more than fill'd : they overflow'd with love, 

And drank in light till they could hold no more, 

All full, though fulness not the same to all, 

As dewdrops, fountains, streams, and argent lakes, 

Albeit with diverse breadth and brilliancy, 390 

Reflect one rising sun. If grief were there, 

In memory of so little done for Him 

Who had done all for us, it was that grief 

Which, while it chastens, only deepens joy, 

Seeing the mantle of His love was thrown 

Over the past, and henceforth it was ours 

To see, adore, and serve Him without end. 



326 THE MILLENNIAL SABBATH. [BOOK 

And there and then, as when a monarch's son, 
The heir apparent of a mighty realm, 
Well pleased in that his father's will is his, 400 

Fixes his love upon some lowly maid 
Of noble ancestry though faded wealth, 
But, ere he brings her to her palace home, 
Instructs her in all gentle courtesies, 
And in such queenly graces, as beseem 
The bride of one whom nations own their prince, 
But chiefly tells her of his father's love, 
His glory, and his goodness, and his grace, 
Until her heart travels before her steps 
To see the sire beloved of her beloved ; — 410 

So, hour by hour, through that millennial day, 
In the pavilion of the heavens recluse, 
As in the active royalties of earth, 
Messiah taught His virgin Bride to long 
For full fruition of the light of God, 
A rapture inconceivable before, 
And only from His own lips to be learn'd. 

Meanwhile on earth the Sabbath morn, that rose 
In its first freshness on Emmanuel's land, 
Scatter'd its glory o'er the nations. Realms, 420 

For ages mantled with the pall of death, 
Woke and arose to life. The ocean waves 
Caught the far splendor, and the winds of heaven 
Wafted the tidings on. Evangelists, 
Of whom the least was mightier in God's might 
Than that prophetic voice by Jordan's banks, 



X.] THE MILLENNIAL SABBATH. 327 

Went forth from Salem. All the powers of hell 

Were bound, and not a rebel spirit abroad : 

But angels plied their ministry uncheck'd, 

Untired. And human hearts, weary of sin, 4.J0 

Weary of warfare, weary of themselves, 

Welcomed with shouts the messengers of peace 

Upon the morning mountains. Beautiful 

Their steps, and beauty folio w'd where they trod ; 

For ever, like a crown of holy flame 

Wreathing their brows, the Pentecostal Spirit 

Moved in the wastes of darkness ; and again 

God said, Let there be light : and there was light. 

Creation, which had groan'd in travail-pangs 
Together with her children until now, 440 

Ceased from her groaning. Long-forgotten smiles, 
The smiles of her sweet childhood's innocence, 
Stole o'er her happy face. The wilderness 
Rejoiced, and blossom'd as the rose. The curse, 
Which for six thousand years had sear'd the heart 
Of nature, was repeal'd. And where the thorn 
Perplex'd the glens, and prickly briars the hills, 
Now, for the Word so spake and it was done, 
The fir-tree rear'd its stately obelisk, 
The cedar waved its arms of peaceful shade, 450 

The vine embraced the elm, and myrtles flower'd 
Among the fragrant orange-groves. No storms 
Vex'd the serene of heaven : but genial mists, 
Such as in Eden drench'd the willing soil, 
Nurtured all lands with richer dews than balm. 



828 THE MILLENNIAL SABBATH. [BOOK 

Earth breathed her thanks. Rivers of living waters 

Broke from a thousand unsuspected springs ; 

And gushing cataracts, like that call'd forth 

On Horeb by the rod of Amram's son, 

Gladden'd the mountain slopes, and coursed adown 460 

The startled defiles, till the crystal wealth, 

Gather'd in what was once an arid vale, 

A lake of azure and of silver shone, 

A mirror for the sun and moon and stars. 

Peace reign'd. Antipathies of kind were now 
Things of the past. The wolf and yearling lamb 
Were playmates ; and the leopard and the kid 
Gamboll'd together on one knoll ; the steer 
And lion grazed one herbage, and the ox 
Couch'd with the bear on one luxurious sward. 470 

Nor of the advent of the Prince of peace 
Lack'd the calm sea its symbols, nor the sky. 
Dolphins and sharks in many a sunny, creek 
Together bask'd at noon ; and glittering shoals 
Made mirth around the huge leviathan. 
Nor less, as I have seen, the king of birds, 
Would bear the cushat dove upon its wings 
Tnto the morning sunlight ; while beneath 
The swallow and the vulture only vied 
In speed, disporting o'er the woods and waves. 4P0 

And now in air and ocean, as on earth, 
A holy fear of man, Nature's true priest, 
Subdued all creatures to his will. His word 
Was law. Even the infant stretch'd its hand. 



X.] THE MILLENNIAL SABBATH. 329 

Its tiny hand, towards the cockatrice, 

Now seen, now hidden in its den ; and babes 

Play'd with the innocent asp, wreathing a coil 

Of burnish'd gold and opal round the neck, 

Or as a bracelet round the dimpled arm. 

Freed from the curse, the grateful garden gave 490 

Its fruits in goodly revenue. Nor frost 

Nor blight nor mildew fell ; nor canker-worm 

Nor caterpillar marr'd one ripening hope. 

The clouds dropp'd fatness. The very elements 

Were subject to the prayerful will of those, 

Whose pleasure was in unison with God's. 

There winter was as summer : summer there, 

Attemper'd with soft dews and cooling winds, 

Appear'd in sevenfold glory ; for the moon 

Was as the sun in that pellucid air, 50t 

The sun as seven day's light in one condensed. 

And when the sun had set nor moon had risen, 

The lesser glories of the stars shone forth, 

As flames fair Venus in the Eastern heavens, 

Or lordly Jupiter. 

War was unknown ; 
'The brotherhood of nations unrelax'd : 
Swords now were ploughshares, spears were pruning 

hooks, 
And all the enginery of battle shown 
As trophies of the victory of love. 
Babel's confusion was unlearn'd. And one 510 

Melodious language, wherein every thought 



330 THE MILLENNIAL SABBATH. [BOOK 

Found utterance, overspread the circling globe, 

A language worthy of the sons of God. 

No labor now was lost. Commerce diffused 

From pole to pole the gifts of every clime, 

And spread her sails to every wind that blew, 

Though love, not greed of lucre, held the helm. 

But chiefly to Jerusalem and fro 

The drift of ceaseless traffic set ; for there 

David, vicegerent, sate on David's throne ; 520 

And on their thrones of judgment round about. 

Judging the tribes of Israel, the twelve, 

Who sometime suffered with a suffering Lord, 

Reign'd in His glorious reign. Mercy and truth 

Met in His presence : righteousness and peace 

Kiss'd each the other underneath His eye. 

His people were a royalty of priests, 

And offer'd in His temple ceaseless prayer 

And incense of uninterrupted praise. 

Thither the nations flock'd. There every doubt 530 

Was solved : there perfect equity held sway. 

No wrong, but there was instantly redress'd ; 

No right, but there was gloriously confirm'd : 

For Zion was the mercy-seat of earth, 

The footstool of the throne of God ; where faith 

Had clearest evidence of things unseen, 

And hope climb'd easiest up the golden stairs 

Scaling the heavens, and love, pure passionate love, 

Saw the Beloved One and was at rest. / 

Yet deem not this millennial Sabbath knew 540 



X."| THE MILLENNIAL SABBATH. 331 

The perfectness of that which was to come, 

Save in Emmanuel's laud. There all was light : 

And all the holy race of Abraham 

Were clothed in priestly robes, spotless as snow. 

But elsewhere good was prevalent, not perfect, 

Not universal. Evil lurk'd unseen 

In hearts that strove against the striving Spirit, 

And at rare intervals appear'd; though wrath 

Then quickly flashing from Messiah's throne 

Branded the sinner with a curse like Cain's ; 550 

And vice crouch'd before virtue. Nor was death 

Wholly unknown ; though now, as ere the flood, 

Decades were centuries of life. Enough 

Remain'd to witness of the awful past, 

And warn the nations of the dread To be. 

Nor prophecy was mute. But, fill'd with joy, 
Little thought men of twilight shadows ever 
Falling upon their day of rest : so bright 
The morn ; so cloudless the meridian sun ; 
So calm the after ages as they roll'd. 560 

Earth teem'd with life. Connubial love recall'd 
The freshness of the bowers of Paradise ; 
And rosy infancy and childhood smiled 
In every homestead ; and the heart of youth 
Open'd its buds and blossoms to the light, 
Unchill'd by devilish lust. Disease had fled. 
Nor wounds, though rare, lack'd healing from the leaves, 
That grew beside the crystal stream of life 
Forth issuing from Emmanuel's throne. But who 



332 THE MILLENNIAL SABBATH. [BOOK X 

May tell the stillness, who the melodies 570 

Of that great Sabbath's sabbaths, when the voices 

Of the whole world were hush'd in silent prayer, 

Or in successive Hallelujahs roll'd 

From shore to shore along the circling hours ? 

But chiefly' in thee, O Zion, where the Prince 

Held court, and His seraphic minstrelsies 

In mortal hearing touch'd immortal harps, 

And fill'd earth's temple with the sounds of hea\ en. 

There on their thrones the crowned hierarchs 

Sate in due course : and oftentimes it seem'd 580 

As if the deep-blue sky was rent asunder, 

Till they who worshipp'd, through cherubic wings 

Unfolding like a woven veil of light, 

Beheld Messiah and His Bride in glory, 

And angels up and down those radiant stairs 

Ascending and descending, on their quests 

Of mercy and high embassies of power. 

Thus visions seen far off, and sung of old 
By holy seers and prophets, grasp'd by faith 
And long'd for, though the half could ne'er be told 590 
In language, nor by hope itself conceived, 
Had now accomplishment — a waking bliss, 
The rest foreshadow'd for the Church of God, 
The golden eve of everlasting day. 

END OF THE TENTH BOOK. 




3S0ok (Elefccntfj. 



THE LAST JUDGMENT. 



When first the armies of the blest, recall'd 

By Michael's trumpet, left the gloomy depths 

Of Hades, where the damned, fiends and men, 

Lay in the gulf of Tartarus o'erthrown, 

There was an outcry as of those who wept, 

And gnashing as of teeth, and passionate groans 

Of spirits in pain, and clanking as of fetters, 

That fill'd those dolorous abodes, though used 

To every sight and every sound of woe, 

With unimaginable dread, the first 10 

Loud wail of endless bottomless despair. 

But when, as those Sabbatic ages roll'd, 

The Omnipresent Eye of Righteousness 

Rested on each, nor moved, nor swerved, nor changed. 

Nor of its terrors mitigated aught, — 

Eternal Equity enveloping 

The passions of iniquity with flame, — 



334 THE LAST JUDGMENT. [BOOK 

The cries grew fainter and more faint, until 

Oppressive silence like a leaden weight 

Brooded upon the Deep unbroken, save 20 

When some dark memory of forgotten guilt 

Flash'd on a tortured conscience, and a low 

Moan of remorse bewail'd in that red stain 

An added anguish for eternity. 

Yes, there was silence, silence but no sleep : 
Sleep on the weary eyelids of the lost 
Hath never rested, nor can rest : and thought 
Was terribly awake in every heart, 
Traversing and retraversing the past, 
And auguring at times with frightful truth 30 

The interminable future. But in none 
Tyrannic conscience stirr'd such inward storm 
As in the Arch-apostate. For long while 
Nor moan, nor motion in his fetter'd limbs, 
Nor sign upon his faded brow betray'd 
The suppressed agony : but at the last, 
Like Pharaoh scourged by those resistless plagues 
Which crush'd, but could not kill his obstinate pride, 
In a low whisper that yet thrill'd through hell, 
As one communing with himself he said, 40 

u The Lord is righteous ; I and mine have sinn'd." 

And now that he had spoken, others spake : 
And each, beneath his individual load 
Of guilt and punishment and fear, confess'd 
The madness and the bitterness of crime. 



XI.] THE LAST JUDGMENT. 335 

Their words were few : but in that heavy air 

They sounded like the muffled bell, that tolls 

Above a murderer ere he dies. Sometimes 

A fiend in torments thought of early days 

And raptures now for ever lost, and moan'd, 50 

" Fool, fool, to barter heaven for endless hell ! " 

And sometimes one with fearful balancing 

Would weigh the pleasures 'gainst the pains of sin, 

And with a sigh of desperate remorse 

Inly would murmur, " Tekel." But with most 

The judgment and the wrath to come fulfill'd 

Their dark imaginings with darker dread, — 

" The worst not come ; yet what of terrible 

Can ever be more terrible than this ? " 

Thus centuries roll'd slowly by : and now 60 

Earth's holy Sabbath of Milennial rest 
Was drawing to its outmost verge, when lo, 
Once more through those vast depths reverberate 
The voice of the Arch-adversary pierced, 
Though weak and painful, fearfully distinct ; 
As not in guile, for guile was useless now 
When God's Eye through and through search' d out 

the folds 
Of next to infinite duplicity : 
Submiss, but not in penitence or gnef, 
He thus gave broken utterance to thoughts, 70 

Fruit of a thousand years of agony : 

u Yes, we have sinn'd, I most, I chiefly ; and ye, 



336 THE LAST JUDGMENT. [BOOK 

My comrades in apostasy and pain, 

Have sinn'd in following me. Madness to deem 

We could do battle with Almighty Power, 

Or with a measurable guile elude 

The counsels of immeasurable Light ! 

Enough : I see it now. Yet what remains ? 

The past is even to Omnipotence 

Irrevocable. Shall we humbly sue 80 

For mercy, and fall low before the throne, 

And all on bended knees send up one cry, 

' Spare us, O Lord ! who bitterly repent 

Of our stupendous folly and misdeed/ — 

And urge the prayer, if it must needs be so, 

For ten times ten Millennial days like this, 

Or that re-multiplied a thousand times 

Ten thousand (an eternity beyond 

Would swallow this as ocean sucks a shower), 

Until our tide of importunity, 90 

Swelling above the songs of Cherubim, 

Obtain at last from wearied Justice that 

Which Justice might unblamed deny to less 

Unconquerable resolve ? But is it true 

We bitterly repent us of our deeds ? 

Ah ! comrades, search your hearts as I search mine. 

The issue we repent, but net the act. 

Of all our multitudes, rack'd as we are, 

Is there one grieved for having grieved his God ? 

Is there one bosom that could ever glow 100 

With love towards Him who cast us hither down ? 

One right hand that could ever touch again 



XT.] THE LAlST judgment. 337 

The string of Hallelujah ? I trow not. 

Others may do' it — think of them if ye will. 

Haply with envy — but not we. Our spirits 

Are wrench'd for ever and averse from God. 

Thus much at least this torturing flame reveals. 

And knowing no repentance, in God's ear 

What would avail us words of penitence ? 

Tush, would Eternal Justice be cajoled, 110 

Or wearied with our importunities ? 

It cannot be : there is no streak of light. 

For man, tempted by us, by us seduced, 

The Son of the Eternal must needs die, 

Die in his stead, ere Mercy could prevail, 

And God's Great Spirit descending recreate 

His marr'd and shatter'd image. But for us 

No Christ has shed His blood ; no Spirit of love 

In my obdurate conscience or in yours 

Awakens one response. It cannot be. 120 

Our lot is irredeemable : our fall 

Is final : we are damn'd for evermore.'* 

Again was silence for a space in hell, 
So terrible, that only the quick breath 
Of spirits in pain was heard like tongues of flame 
Sibilant in the sultry atmosphere : 
But shortly, Satan sighing thus resumed: 

" That which is done can never be undone. 
Believe me, I who led you on to ruin, 
And as is righteous suffer most, have tried lao 



338 THE LAST JUDGMENT. [BOOK 

All pathways of return, and thought, and thought, 

Till thought itself was vacancy and reel'd 

Upon the giddy pinnacle it clomb, — 

There is no hope. How is that possible, 

Which we can never ask, nor God vouchsafe ? 

Friends, reconciliation cannot be, 

Nor war, nor peace : one thing alone remains, — 

Submission. Underneath His scorching Eye 

Who knows what anguish this averment costs, 

Who knows herein I utter all my heart, 140 

I say submission to His iron rod 

Whose golden sceptre we have spurn'd for ever ; 

Here lies the only unction for our woes : 

Submission, which persisted in, despite 

All cravings from without and from within, 

May bring at least escape from this abyss, 

And from the fiercer lake which burns below. 

Hearken, ye know upon the scrolls of truth 

It stands recorded when the Sabbath rest 

Is o'er, we shall be loosen'd from our chains J 50 

A little season. Wherefore ? for man's sake ? 

Not wholly : God deals equally with all. 

One trial more is there accorded us. 

Tis true, the Oracle proceeds, that we 

Shall quickly with mankind conspire again 

To mar His reign, and lead the apostate earth 

Against the embattled army of His saints : 

But this is ours to do, or not to do. 

There is no Fate, as once I madly thought, 

Which writes decrees immutably ordain'd 16^ 



XI.] THE LAST JUDGMENT. 339 

Other than creature will, and increate 
Foreknowledge of the workings of that will 
In Him who governs all. And for myself, 
This by ray right hand have I straitly sworn, — 
Never, if instant monarchy were mine, 
Never to gratify revenge or pride 
Never, ye all soliciting the deed, 
Insensate, never will I raise an arm 
Against Omniscient and Eternal Power." 

He paused, and hollow murmurs of assent, 170 

Such murmurs at midnight the desert wind 
Wakes in Gomorrah's dead mephitic sea, 
Crept over the abyss : so pleasing seem'd 
The least abatement of their vivid pangs. 
And readily they pledged their dismal oath, 
If only' escape from this Tartarean pit 
"Were granted, never more to violate 
With deeds of rapine or designs of wrong 
The kingdom of the Prince of Peace. Ah, fools, 
Tempters too long, who now misdeem'd themselves 130 
In their own might against temptation proof! 

But barely had the echo of their words 
Died in the gloomy distances of night, 
When lo, the thing they long'd for, was : their chains 
Were loosen'd : the terrific flame of fire 
Assuaged its lightnings : the infernal gates 
Recoiling by some viewless hand were thrown 
Wide open ; and a Dreadful Voice proclaim'd. 



340 THE LAST JUDGMENT. [BOOK 

"The roadway of return' to earth is free : 

But touch not mankind lest far worse ensue." 190 



Straightway, like that Apocalyptic smoke 
By John seen rising from the bottomless pit, 
Whence issued swarms of locusts on the earth 
All arm'd for battle, — through the open gates 
Of terror-stricken Hades they ascended, 
And through that lustreless defile of clouds 
Which led to the expanse, and through the fields 
Of ether, and the blasted stars which paled 
Sensibly as their ruinous train swept by, 
Startling the sons of men. But 'mongst them soon 200 
Arriving, to their old familiar haunts 
Of earth, or air, or ocean, they repair'd — 
Unheralded, except Creation sigh'd 
Through all her lengths and breadths and depths and 

heights 
A sigh prophetic of her latest pangs. 

Three days the prince of darkness, day and night, 
Though night was now what day had once appear'd, 
Flew with disastrous pinion to and fro 
Over the renovated earth. No shore 
Escaped his gloomy visitation. Straight 210 

From Arctic to Antarctic climes he pass'd, 
And in the dubious light from East to West, 
Only so steering his pernicious course 
As to avoid Emmanuel's saintly land, 
Outstripp'd the rising sun. The glorious sight 



XI.] THE LAST JUDGMENT. 341 

Fill'd liim with envy and amaze : so soon 

His footprints, as it seeni'd, had been effaced : 

So transient evil's film ; so naturally 

Goodness and mercy had reclaim'd their own. 

Not that the sparse and rare remains of ill 220 

Escaped his sympathetic eye, or fail'd 

To' awaken pleasure in the Evil One : 

But these were few and far. The earth was full 

Of gladness ; and her hymns of ceaseless praise, 

Rich with the music of his Rival's name, 

Grated worse discord in his ear than all 

Hell's wailings. But for full three days and nights 

The memory of his dark Millennial prison 

And his late dominant resolve suppress'd, 

Albeit with inward agony untold, 230 

Utterance of hatred or by deed or word 

Or louring frown. 

But then, as morning broke, 
It chanced he lighted there where Penuel, — 
The seraph who first dropp'd on heaven's bright floor 
Such contrite tears as the unfall'n may weep, — 
Shed fragrance on the bridal couch of two 
Only last eve united in the links 
Of marriage. Through her half-closed lids the bride 
Glanced bashfully upon her sleeping spouse 
As glad to find him not awaked, that she 210 

Might gaze embolden'd with less burning cheek 
Upon his lofty brow. Sweetly she quaflfd 
The odors, and imbibed the quicken'd air, 



342 THE LAST JUDGMENT. [ROOK 

Nor knew the perfume was from heavenly bowers. 

Nor human love was fann'd by augel wings. 

It was a scene of which the happy earth 

Had myriads not unlike. But Penuel's watch, 

So like his own in Eden o'er the sleep 

Of our first parents, stirr'd such fell despite, 

Such envy' and enmity and withering pride 25<> 

In Satan's breast, that, when the seraph flew, 

His errand done, swift as a beam of light, 

To Zion's golden gates and thence to heaven, 

The fiend no more refrain'd himself, but scowl'd 

Defiance on the sky, and spake aloud : 

" God, this is worse than hell. Here rent in twu.in 
Myself against myself wage deadly strife. 
What see I here but love ? innocent love ? 
Love, which I share not, nor can 'ever share, 
But crave with inextinguishable desire 260 

To shrivel all its beauty like a scroll 
Now and for ever. Rest, proud heart, be still. 
How rest amid this restless rising tide ? 
Anguish intolerable : not these twain, 
Nor millions like upon this peopled world. 
One world might be endured. But, maddening 

thought, 
These are but firstfruits of the things to be. 
Love must needs multiply. Nothing but sin 
Can kill its growth. Prolific tree of life. 
Whose seed is in itself upon the earth ! 270 

And Earth, her granaries overstock'd ere long, 



XI.] THE LAST JUDGMENT 343 

Doubtless will sow the starry heavens with love, 

New worlds on worlds impregning (who shall fix 

A term to that increase ?) while I and mine, — 

They multiplying more and more, we not, — 

Become through endless ages less and less, 

Less great, less formidable, less observed, 

Nothing or worse than nothing ; — gazing-stocks, 

At which the elect will point and cry, Behold 

The fruit of disobedience, and fear ; 2«u 

Poor motes, floating amid a flood of light ; 

And every new apocalypse of grace, 

To Michael and his peers new bliss, new heaven, 

To us and ours new shame, new loss, new hell ; 

Our torment more, our power to injure less. 

Better strike now. Better to be abhorr'd 

Than pitied. Mar this second paradise, 

And perish rather. What forefends ? Not God, 

Or He had never brought me hither again. 

Nor His bright winged ministries : mine arm 290 

Hath not yet lost its native puissance : 

Nor men, too easy victims, flesh and blood, 

Unfenced in spotless purity like those 

Who fell in Eden, and through long disuse 

Untaught to cope with cruelty and craft. 

What hinders ? Nothing but my mighty oath, 

Sworn only to myself and mine, from which 

I therefore can absolve myself and them ; 

And they, so willing, loose themselves and me. 

Ha! my strong lust wrestles with my resolve, 300 

Which waxes weak and weaker every pulse 



344 THE LAST JUDGMENT. [BOOK 

The inevitable end approaches. Death, 
"Whatever death may be to spirits like us, 
Were easement to this riven and ruptured life. 
But haply, ere we perish, we shall drink, 
Sweeter than nectar to our lips, the cup 
Of desolating desperate revenge." 

And like a cloud with tempest charged, which rolls 
Suddenly o'er the azure firmament 
Its darkness in the teeth of wind, he swept 310 

Over a sleeping world. Little reck'd men 
Of danger. But his gloomy hosts he found 
Beyond his utmost expectation ripe 
For new revolt. Their will, less strong than his. 
Had struggled less against temptation's tide : 
Their foresight less was sooner at a fault : 
Brief respite banish'd centuries of pain. 
Had they not fasted a Millennial fast 
From deeds of violence and wrong ? And now, 
As prowls a pack of lean and hungry wolves 32u 

Driven by fierce winter from Siberian steppes 
Around a camp's fast waning fires, they fix'd 
Their ravenous glances on a world which lay 
Basking in unsuspicious Sabbath rest, — 
Near and delicious booty. Every hour 
Inflamed them ; and their fretting cowardice 
Only awaited one to lead them forth, 
Fit captain, for It crew. 

The time was short; 



XI.*] THE LAST JUDGMENT. 345 

But fiendish malice made short work. The earth 

Was of one speech and language. Myriads teem'd 330 

In former wilds : and all the sons of men 

Were link'd in countless bonds of intercourse. 

No wasting war check'd the full tide of life. 

Oceaus were walls no more, but voyaged now, 

No storms occurrent, with electric speed 

Were highways of the nations. Science ask'd 

Of Nature's limitless munificence 

Vast largesses, nor met refusal : love 

Won easily what she had grudged to lust ; 

Millennial life ripening her fruits. All lands 340 

Were wont to gather now in holy tryst 

At Zion's glad memorial festivals 

With greater ease than Israel of old 

Flock'd to the temple gates of Solomon. 

Thought circulated like the light. Mankind 

Was one great family, and earth one home : 

Source of innumerable joys, when all 

Was purity ? and evil was unknown, 

Or known was instantly repress'd with good ; 

But of infectious pestilence, if once 35G 

The foe infuse his venom unobserved 

Into the human heart, — which now befell. 

Watchman, what of the night ? Night is far spent : 
IVIorn i3 at hand, the morn of endless day. 
Broods yet a tempest ? Yet the last, hell's last 
Expiring struggle, heaven's last victory : 
Beyond is cloudless light and perfect peace. 



346 THE LAST JUDGMENT. [BOOK 

Yet seem'd it passing miracle, that they, 
Who lived beneath the shadow of the throne, 
And saw the glory of the Prince, and knew 360 

That Canaan, of earth's provinces elect, 
Was as His temple, Israel His priests, 
The Church His Bride, and holy seraphim 
The servants of His pleasure, they should heed 
Infatuate the Arch-tempter's glozing speech 
And yield — how easily deceived, how soon 
Deceivers ! It was passing miracle. 
God only knows the fathomless profound 
Of man. Yet peradventure otherwise, 
Maugre the lessons of six thousand years, 370 

Earth, mother of the human race, and nurse 
Of countless generations yet unborn, 
Had rested in her native strength, nor learn'd 
The creature by itself can never stand, 
Mutable, fallible, and on its God 
For righteousness dependent as for life. 
Pride falls for ever now : and lowliness 
Meekly receives her amaranthine crown. 

But the last strife was terrible. Each fiend 
Was now as Satan, train'd in guilt and guile, 380 

Student and scholar of the human heart, 
And skilful when and where to show himself 
Clad in angelic light. Quickly they saw 
The perilous exaltation free from fear 
Of those who revell'd in Millennial peace. 
They mark'd the easy avenue, they gauged 



XI. J THE LAST JUDGMENT. 34? 

The powers of man, the limits of his power, 

And what beyond was feasible to hope : 

Long life was his, not immortality ; 

Swift motion, but not flight ; far-reaching fields 390 

Of knowledge, but yet wider lay beyond ; 

Earth was earth ; men were men, not angels ; saints. 

Not seraphs ; though celestial intercourse 

Was oft within terrestrial homes vouchsafed. 

Hence first the spirits of evil in men's hearts, 

Echoing the serpent's lie a million times, 

Clandestinely infused mistrust, and plied 

The vacillating will with hateful doubt : 

Could that be love which circumscribed their power ? 

Why were they fetter'd to this narrow orb? 400 

Why not, as angels, free to range the heavens ? 

Why this delay of glory ? Could it be 

That He, who gave so much, begrudged them more ? 

Nor marvel, if such thoughts, which once avail'd 

To drag archangels from their thrones, had power 

To baffle unsuspecting human hearts, 

To try their faith who lean'd upon their God, 

And taint the rest. No longer instant wrath 

Visibly on transgression fell. For now, 

As once on Sinai in awed Israel's sight, 4 10 

God had retired into His secret place 

Of thunder, and had wrapt His glory round 

In swaddling bands of darkness. Hell meanwhile 

Embolden'd show'd its lying signs of power 

And fiery portents in the sky : till earth, 

Heaven's mirror late, became again the haunt 



348 THE LAST JUDGMENT. [BOOB 

Of fear, suspicion, hatred, violence, — 

All save Emmanuel's land. Yet think not all 

Fell from their loyalty. Myriads were found 

Faithful in every region under heaven. J2C 

And speedily, for half a week of years 

Saw this rebellion schemed and swoll'n and crush'd, 

War reassumed her bloody car, her sons 

Wielding infernal powers unguess'd of yore, 

And drave the saints before her : not a few, 

Like Enoch, rapt from the tumultuous strife 

To the calm presence of the Prince of Peace, 

Companions of the Virgin Bride : the rest 

Flocking by day and night, by land and sea, 

Under the shadow of that holy cloud 430 

Which o'er the height of Zion hung sublime. 

But now the foe infuriated draws 
All nations from the fourfold winds, himself 
Incarnate, and in blasphemous despair 
Or bitter mockery of his last defeat, 
As Gog and Magog, leads his armies forth 
To compass the beloved city. Earth 
Groan'd underneath the tread of armed men : 
The winds and oceans chafed to bear their fleets . 
The very sky was frighted by the rush 440 

Of fienlish wings. Baleful conspiracy! 
Devils and men at last in open league 
Assuming empire with a front, to less 
Than strength Almighty, irresistible. 
Darkening all lands they come, but densest where 



XI.J THE LAST JUDGMENT. 349 

Euphrates roll'd her ancient tide of wealth 

Through Shinar's plains : for in their pride they ween'd 

To storm the citadel of heaven and climb 

The ladder of crystalline gold there set, 

And leading higher than the stars of God. 4M 

Ah ! blind rebellion, madness to the last, 
Infatuate, suicidal, desperate! 

The latest band of unpolluted saints 
Was gather'd now beneath the shadowing wings 
Of that Shekinah cloud which stretch'd its shade 
From Lebanon to Nile ; and now the hosts 
Of Satan flock'd around the holy realm 
By foot unblest as yet inviolate ; 
When from the frowning heavens again that sound, 
Which shook the first fell council of the damn'd, 460 
More terrible than thunder vibrated 
Through every heart, Jehovah's awful laugh. 
Mocking their fears and scorning their designs, 
The laughter of Eternal love incensed. 
From pole to pole it peal'd. And lo, the cloud, 
Whence it appear'd to issue, spread abroad 
Over the rebel hosts its pregnant gloom, 
And, louring, in the twinkling of an eye 
Flash'd into flame. The dreadful storm of fire 
Bore ever down, precipitately down, 470 

Scathing the spirits of evil first (of power 
These everlasting burnings to destroy 
Spiritual and carnal essences alike), 



350 THE LAST JUDGMENT. [BOOK 

Still down, — though not before a whisper ran 
Through those pale ranks like that which blanch'd the 

lips 
Of Pharaoh's bravest in the yawning deep, — 
" God fights for Zion ; let us flee His face." 
It was too late : for down, still ever down, 
The arrows of destruction fell, the flames 
Baffling escape or flight. And now the Lord 480 

Himself on the Arch-adversary laid 
The right hand of Omnipotence. The touch 
Alone was foretaste of the second death, 
Such death as damned spirits for ever die. 
He shudder'd and was still. Nor less his hosts, 
Whelm'd by the glory' of God, and manacled 
Beneath angelic wardenship, were ranged 
Far to the left of the consuming fire 
Burning around the central throne, and there 
In speechless horror waited, till the Judge 400 

Should summon each to His eternal bar. 

But first Messiah spake again, His voice 
Resounding from the jasper walls of heaven 
To hell's profoundest caves. And lo, the Deep 
Grew darker at the summons. Hades shook 
Through all her strong foundations, as of old 
Sinai beneath the feet of God. Nor now 
Was key or loosen'd bar or facile bolt 
Needed to ope her adamantine doors ; 
For, as it seem'd, the firmament, which arch'd 500 

That prison of the damn'd with lurid gloom, 



XI.] THE LAST JUDGMENT. 351 

To right and left was rent : and Death and Hell 

"With dreadful throes and agonizing groans 

Disgorged their dead, the lost of every age, 

In myriads, small and great confusedly. These, 

As shivering on the bare expanse they stood, 

Ejected prisoners but not escaped, 

The angels in dead ominous silence led 

Back to their mother earth, where waited each 

His ruin'd spirit's tenement, made fit 510 

To' endure the terrors of the wrath to come, 

The body of his sin, and from this hour 

The body of his everlasting woe. 

Thus clothed with shame not glory, came they forth 

From graves innumerable by land and sea, 

And took their station, so the Judge ordain'd, 

Behind the accursed angels, who first sinn'd 

And, as was meet, must first receive their doom. 

Hades was empty. Not a sound or sigh 
Or whisper of a living thing was heard o20 

In the sepulchral air. That gloomy prison 
Had done its work. And suddenly, behold, 
What seem'd its floor of solid adamant 
Heaved, — as in Zembla's seas at summer prime 
A mighty floe of ice disruptured heaves 
Beneath the chafing tide, and in an hour 
Its glens and bergs and frozen fastnesses 
Break in a thousand fragments, the vex'd waves 
Betwixt them washing to and fro. So now, 
As it appeared, the keystone of that crypt, 530 



852 THE LAST JUDGMENT. [BOOK 

Which overarch'd the fiery gulf below, 
Was crush'd : and like a sinking dome, the vault 
With rout insufferable and hideous noise 
Fell sheer into the bottomless pit. But huge 
As was that ruin, loom'd more huge, more vast 
That shoreless fathomless abyss of fire, 
Which swallow'd up in its remorseless waves 
Whatever lay beyond the mighty gulf 
Coasting the triple wall of Paradise. 

Meanwhile on earth the quick tempestuous flames, 
That overthrew the rebel armies, spread [540 

From fell to forest, and from clime to clime, 
From shore to shore, from island on to isle, 
And burning continent to continent ; 
While from beneath the ocean lava floods 
Surged up until the very waters roll'd 
Aflame ; and clouds of smoke and seething steam 
Darken'd the sky — a space: then I beheld, 
And lo, the firmamental heavens themselves 
Were kindled, and the primal elements 550 

Melted with heat, and one vast sea of fire, 
Its waves darting their hungry tongues aloof, 
Baptized the unregenerate earth in flame. 
One land alone, — like Goshen, when the shroud 
Of palpable darkness wrapt the Memphian plains, 
Sunning its pastures in the smile of God, — 
One land remain'd unscathed, and over that 
Nor firebrand shot, nor smell of burning pass'd. 



XI.] THE LAST JUDGMENT. 3/>3 

And there in heaven, immediately above 
The holy hills of Zion as it seem'd, 560 

Though peradventure airy semblance veil'd 
A distance greater than the solar orb, 
When now the blasts of lightning wrath were spent, 
From out the dazzling glory' at. last emerged 
The likeness of a great white throne, more bright 
(If time may render such similitude 
To mysteries not born of time) than when 
A vaporous sea of mist, shrouding the Alps 
From Viso to the far Tyrol, an hour 
Ere sunset, lifts its giant gloom, and melts 570 

In showers, save where the victor king of day 
Rides on the uppermost ravine of cloud 
And brightens it to brightness till it glows 
Whiter than light itself. And on the throne, 
When strengthen'd by the Spirit I look'd, behold 
One seated, from whose unveil'd face the earth 
As mantled with its former robes, and heaven, 
Its azure curtains shrivelling like a leaf, 
Melted as melts a dream o' the night. But lo, 
Before the throne in countless millions stood 580 

New risen the dead, all of them, small and great, 
Speechless with terror, by the angels soon 
Far to the left reduced : while on the right 
Advanced the saints in blissful multitudes ; 
And round about the throne were seraphim 
And cherubim of glory, and the chiefs 
Of the celestial host ; meanwhile the rest 
Stretch'd like a fringe of light beyond the saints, 



854 THE LAST JUDGMENT. [BOOK 

Beyond the ruin'd dead, beyond the spirits 

Accursed in concentric walls of flame. 590 

And then and there the likeness as of books 

Before the awful Presence of the Judge 

Was seen, the massive chronicles of time, 

The law, the Gospel, and the book of life. 

This the last open'd was first read. And as 
The names engraven on its crystal leaves 
Fell singly from Messiah's lips, the saints 
From martyr'd Abel to the youngest babe 
Caught heavenward for the joy of His espousals 
Stood forth apparent in that holy light, 000 

Their blood-wash'd robes purer than driven snow. 
Palms in their hands, and woven in their hair 
Garlands of amaranth. And one by one 
The beams o' the Divine glory seem'd to rest 
On each : and in the twinkling of an eye, 
In sight and audience of the universe, 
That one became the object, whereon all, 
Forgetful of themselves and all besides, 
Gazed. Not the faintest film of guilt remain'd 
Beneath the scrutiny of Perfect Love, 610 

Such was the virtue of His blood, and such 
The lustre of His seamless robe of light. 
But every thought, and word, and act of grace, 
Writ in the book of His remembrance, shed 
A halo of such radiant holiness 
O'er every member of the mystic Bride, 
That all, not saints alone but seraphim, 



XI.] THE LAST JUDGMENT 355 

With shouts of lofty joy congratulant, 

Nor seraphs only, but the lost perforce, 

Both men and devils, as the Son of God 620 

Proclaimed the righteousness of saints, and placed 

A crown of glory on the brow of each, 

Echoed the verdict of the Throne, Amen. 

Those numbers had no number : but ask not 
How long their judgment lasted ; for methinks 
Time and its ages then were felt to be 
Creatures of the Eternal, in whose Eye 
And Presence moments are as years, and years 
As moments. But to me at least it seem'd 
Only the fragment of a day, before 680 

The latest saint received his blest award ; 
And the King stooping from the snow-white throne 
Held forth the sceptre of His grace, dove-tipp'd 
(As once of yore Ahasuerus calm'd 
Young Esther's beating heart), and bade us touch 
The symbol, and draw nearer while He spake : 

* Come, all ye blessed of My Father, come 
Inherit ye the royalties and realms, 
Ere the foundations of the world were laid 
For you prepared and destined. Heirs of God, 640 
Joint heirs with Me, receive your heritage ; 
Come ye, who bore My cross, and wear My crown ; 
Come share My glories ye who shared My griefs ; 
But first assessors to My throne abide, 
The while I judge Mine enemies and yours." 



856 THE LAST JUDGMENT. [BOOK 

So saying, He drew us nearer to His side, 
And placed us on His glorious right. O scene 
Of solemn unimaginable awe ! 
Ere this, though nurtured in Millennial wonders, 
The saints were with themselves absorb'd, nor dared 650 
Look otherwhere than on their peers and Judge. 
But now it seem'd we were again the Bride, 
And seated by the Bridegroom's side ; for lo, 
The likeness as of countless thrones appear'd 
On that unutterably radiant cloud 
Which was Messiah's judgment-throne — nor think 
Room wanting in that vast sidereal dome — 
Each in its order'd place, tier above tier, 
Rank above rank, so marvellously set, 
Or such the virtue here of sight and sound, 660 

We saw the shades that pass'd on every brow, 
We heard the whisper of the faintest sigh. 
Before us first the hosts of rebel spirits 
Under angelic wardens : next to these 
Their miserable victims, of mankind : 
And still beyond them angels numberless : 
Beside us, to the right hand and the left, 
The diverse glories of the stars : and far 
Below our feet our mother planet, earth, 
Glow'd in the embers of her final fire, 670 

Except the solitary land conceal'd 
Beneath the shadow of the hand of God. 

And now the Anointed Judge, fronting the left, 
Summon'd the apostate spirits one by one 



O.] THE LAST JUDGMENT. 357 

Before Him. Face to face with us they stood, 

Whom they had wrestled with in dubious fight 

And plied with hellish crafts in pilgrim days. 

Dreadful it was to see them now unmask'd, 

And, as the story of each appear'd, to learn 

What poisonous arrows they had shot, what snares 680 

Had strew'd, what pitfalls of iniquity 

Had digg'd for us, albeit Heavenly Love 

Led our unwary footsteps safely home. 

Now we beheld the secret springs of ill 

Which moved the mighty drama of the world, 

And saw how often proud infatuate men, 

Like Ahab by the lying fiend beguiled, 

Were dupes of hell. On each the judgment fell : 

As he had sinn'd, so was to each the weight 

And measure of eternal punishment, G90 

Weigh'd in the scales of Perfect Equity, 

Poised to the small dust of the balances, 

And meted to a gossamer's viewless breadth ; 

And with such clear necessity adjudged 

By One, whose long forbearance had been drain'd 

To the last drop, by Love, Almighty Love, 

Uttering its slow irrevocable words 

In tones of wrath so strangely blent with grief, 

So calm, so true, so just, that even the damn'd 

Could only answer, " Thou art righteous, Lord : " 700 

And, as the awful sentence fell on each 

Of chains and everlasting banishment 

To liis own portion in the lake of lire, 



358 THE LAST JUDGMENT. [BOOK 

As by the Spirit of holiness compell'd 
We and the blessed angels said, Amen. 



The Arch-tempter was reserved for judgment last. 
Silent he stood. Upon his haggard brow 
Nor hope nor fear was visible, nor guile, 
Nor lust, nor hate : an utter blank it seem'd, 
A passionless vacuity of thought : 710 

But when the concentrated light of God, 
As sunbeams in a burning-glass condensed, 
Fell on his naked spirit, it touch'd, it woke 
The dormant sense within him ; and a moan 
Stifled was heard ; and mighty shudderings 
Shook his colossal frame : for in that light 
His pride was despicable littleness, 
His wisdom idiot folly, and his lies 
Rent cobwebs in the torturing glare of truth. 
And now the strong was weak, the haughty' abased, 
The rebel crouching at his Conqueror's feet, [720 

The shameless clothed with everlasting shame. 
Prostrate he fell before the throne ; and there, 
In sight of all, Messiah on his neck 
Planted His burning heel, and in the act 
For ever crush'd the accursed Serpent's head . 
Life not extinct, but crush'd ; and sin not slain, 
But bruised and ready for the second death : 
I look'd again ; and lo, among his own, 
Convict and chain'd, the strengthless Arch-fiend lay. 
And for a space no sound was heard. But then [730 



XI.] THE LAST JUDGMENT. 359 

It seem'd the crystal empyrean clave 

Beneath them, and the horrid vacuum suck'd 

The devil and his armies down (as once 

Korah and all his crew, quick as they were, 

Sank from amid the camp of Israel) 

To bottomless perdition. None escaped. 

And, as their cry of piercing misery 

From out that yawning gulf went up to heaven, 

Standing upon its rugged edge we gazed 7K, 

Intently' and long down after them ; and there 

They sank and sank, the forms more indistinct, •■ 

The cries more faint, the echoes feebler, till 

The firmamental pavement closed again : 

And silence was in heaven. 

Nor longer pause, 
For now the everlasting Son of God 
Summon'd the millions of the dead, the lost, 
Each to appear before the great white throne. 
And lo, the angels round about them urged, 
Urged and compell'd obedience, or they 760 

Had gladlier sunk that hour to utter night. 
And all the other angels, from their charge 
Of the rebellious spirits for aye released, 
Disposed themselves around the judgment-seat 
In fashion of an emerald rainbow, built 
Of loftiest arch what time the sun is low ; 
Or intermingling with the saints communed 
In whispers to the rest inaudible 
Of the dread issues of this last Assize. 



360 THE LAST JUDGMENT. [BOOK 

Of these was Oriel. To my side he flew 760 

Ajid press'd my hand for gladness at my crown, 

And, like an elder brother, by my side 

Half leaning, ever and anon he spake 

With tears of that which pass'd beneath our feet. 

Yes, there was Cain the fratricide, the brand 
Of murder still upon his brow ; and they 
Who mock'd the saintly Enoch ; and the brood 
Begotten of the fallen sous of light, 
Giants in sin as size ; and they who sank 
Blaspheming heaven around the ark they built ; 770 
And they who in another deluge found 
Untimely burial, Pharaoh and his chiefs ; 
The rebel sons of Reuben ; and the seer 
Who loved the wages of unrighteousness, 
The son of Bosor ; multitudes of slain 
From the polluted homes of Canaan ; 
And he who fell upon the bloody heights 
Of Mount Gilboa, Saul the son of Kish ; 
And crowds of miserable idolaters, 
Of whom I mark'd lascivious Jezebel : 78U 

Sinners of every age and every type ; 
The proud, despiteful, fierce, implacable, 
Unthankful, and unholy, and unclean ; 
And they who lived in pleasure, dead the while ; 
Haters of God ; and whosoever loved, 
And whosoever wrought the devil's He. 

Time's river in that awful retrospect 



XI.] THE LAST JUDGMENT. 361 

Was flowing swiftly by ; when lo, I heard 

The traitor's name, and from among the dead 

He staggcr'd shuddering to the judgment bar, 790 

And eye to eye met Him whose sacred life 

He sold for lucre : infinite contempt 

Was branded on his brow, who knew at last 

Good were it for him had he ne'er been born. 

Nero was there ; and none appear'd to shrink 

More terror-stricken from the face of God ; 

In vain : and many, who with lighter guilt 

Had yet imbued their hands in holy blood, 

Nor wash'd them in the only fount : and when 

The persecuting priests of Carthage came 800 

For judgment forth, my guardian touch'd my hand 

And pointed to a rank of glorious saints, 

Far, far aloof, and nearer to the throne, 

Where sate the beautiful Perpetua clothed 

In amaranthine bloom, though pity fill'd 

Her heart with tenderness, her eyes with tears. 

Thus pass'd the centuries with ruin vex'd 
And visited with wrath : when lo, a name 
Startled me, so familiar was the sound ; 
And Oriel faintly whisper'd, " It is he," 810 

As Theodore approach'd the throne, and stood 
Trembling at that tribunal. Not a trace 
Of pride or blasphemous despite survived 
Upon his hopeless brow, only despair, 
Who now beneath the terrors of God's Eye 
For two Millennial days and half a third 



362 THE LAST JUDGMENT. [BOOK 

Had lain submiss. One hurried glance he stole 

Upon a form below us, — could it be 

His mother ? — but no breath of useless prayer 

Escaped his lips, compress'd in agony ; 820 

Until the irrevocable sentence fell 

Upon him, and methought I caught the words, 

" God, I bow beneath Thy rod for ever." 

And Oriel whisper'd in my ears, " Amen. 

Omniscient Love ordains it. All is well." 

But who of saints or angels could revive 
All the dread scenes of that tribunal ? Time 
In that judicial retrospect appear'd 
To bare itself before eternity ; 

Though as the ages onward roll'd, they each 830 

Yielded an ever larger harvest-field 
To the keen scythe of death. But when at last 
The period of my mortal pilgrimage 
Arrived for judgment, I beheld the forms 
Of many I had known from youth to prime, 
Sheep, wayward sheep whom I had vainly sought. 
Now fronting the Chief Shepherd face to face. 
And now the fold was closed : and it was mine 
To witness I had call'd in vain. God, 
Thou know'st, Thou only, what sustain'd me then. 840 
Still the dark plots grew darker, as the end 
Drew near, and tangled labyrinths of crime 
More intricate : all were unravell'd now ; 
And deeds, scarce trusted to the subtle winds 
Aud whisper'd in the ear with bated breath, 



XI.] THE LAST JUDGMENT. 3(>3 

Were now in presence of the universe 

Proclaim'd. Rebel ingratitude had kept 

Its worst, its blackest for the close of all : 

But when the last impenitent, who died 

With devils leagued and devilish arms in hand 850 

Fighting against apparent Deity, 

Had all received the terrible award 

Of Justice, and among their comrades slunk, 

Once more was silence for a space in heaven ; 

Until the Judge arising from His throne 

Bent on the countless multitudes convict 

His visage of eternal wrath, and spake 

In tones which more than thousand thunders shook 

The crumbling citadel of every heart, — 

" Depart from Me, ye cursed, into fire, 8G0 

Fire for the devil and his hosts prepared, 

Fire everlasting, fire unquenchable ; 

Myself have said it : let it be : Amen." 

And from the upper firmament there came 

A Voice Almighty, " Let it be : Amen." 

And all the trembling angels said, " Amen." 

And the pale Bride repeated, " Yea, Amen." 

God spake, and it was done. Again the floor 
Of solid crystal where the damned stood 
Open'd its mouth, immeasurable leagues ; 870 

And with a cry whose piercing echoes yet 
Beat through the void of shoreless space, the lost 
Helplessly, hopelessly, resistlessly, 
Adown the inevitable fissure sank, 



864 THE LAST JUDGMENT. [BOOK 

As sank before the ruin'd hosts of hell, 

Still down, still ever down, from deep to deep, 

Into the outer darkness, till at last 

The fiery gulf received them, and they plunged 

Beneath Gehenna's burning sulphurous waves 

In the abyss of ever-during woe. 880 

All shook except the Throne of Judgment. That, 
Built on the righteousness of God, nor shook 
Nor faintest tremor of vibration felt : 
The Hand that held the scales of destiny 
Swerved not an hair's breadth : and the Voice which 

spake 
Those utterances quail'd not, falter'd not. 
But when the fiery gulf was shut, and all 
Look'd with one instinct on the judgment-seat 
To read His countenance who sate thereon, 
He was in tears — the Judge was weeping — tears 890 
Of grief and pity inexpressible. 
And straightway we remember'd who had wept 
Over Jerusalem, and is the same 
For ever as to-day and yesterday ; 
And in full sympathy of grief the springs 
Gush'd forth within us ; and the angels wept : 
Till stooping from the throne with His own hand 
He wiped the tears from every eye, and said, 
u My Father's will be done ; His will is Mine ; 
And Mine is yours : but mercy' is His delight, 900 

And judgment is His strange and dreadful work. 
Now it is done for ever. Come with Me 



XI.] TIIE LAST JUDGMENT. 365 

Ye blessed children of my Father, come ; 
And in the many mansions of His love 
Enjoy the beams of His unclouded smile." 

So saying, as once from Olivet, He rose 
Majestically toward the heaven of heavens 
In the serenity of perfect peace : 
And we arose with Him. 

But what of those 
Who, from the place of final judgment hurPd, 910 

Had each his portion in the lake of fire ? 
No Lethe roll'd its dark oblivious waves, 
As some have feign'd, betwixt that world of woe 
And ours of bliss. But rather, as of old 
Foreshadow'd in the prescient oracles, 
The smoke of their great torment rose to heaven 
In presence of the holy seraphim, 
And in the presence of the Lamb of God, 
For ever and for ever. At the first 
Nothing was heard ascending from the deep 920 

Save wailings and unutterable groans, 
"Wrung from them by o'ermastering agony ; 
But as His Eye, who is consuming fire, 
Unintermittently abode on them, — 
Truth, cleanness, justice fastening like flame 
On all that was untrue, unclean, unjust, 
And thus to each awarding his due meed, — 
The outbreaks of the rebel will were quell'd, 
The quick activities of sin were crush'd. 



366 THE LAST JUDGMENT. [bOOK 

No word of wrathful blasphemy was heard, 930 

No violence was wrought ; but order rose 

From that profound confusion unconfused, 

Order and forced submission ; and ere long 

Swaying her sceptre through the lurid gloom, 

And curbing every utterance but truth, 

Silence assumed her adamantine throne. 

Now were the works of Satan brought to nought ; 
His vast conspiracy dissolved for ever ; 
Pride, the first fatal lure, abased for ever; 
Hell's transient eminence destroy 'd for ever ; 940 

The haughtiness of man bow'd down for ever ; 
The lips of idle falsehood seaFd for ever ; 
Tyrant oppression now oppress'd for ever ; 
Hatred was still ; and murder was no more ; 
And lust had wrought its latest shame. The germs 
Of evil, ineradicable germs 
(Grace only in the day of grace has power 
To purge the ill, and recreate the good), 
Could never strike one poisonous root again 
Beneath the curse of God, nor germinate 950 

In that devouring atmosphere of fire : 
And, being that repressive fire was there 
For ever, Sin the vanquish'd monster lay 
For ever powerless in the jaws of Death ; 
And to our eyes, who saw the light of life 
And stood upon the shore of glory, Death 
Itself was swallow'd up in victory. 



XI.] THE LAST JUDGMENT. 367 

Well I remember, — ages then had roll'd 
Out of a measureless eternity, — 

Standing with Oriel on that outmost verge 960 

Of Paradise, the lowest court of heaven, 
Where once to me a bodiless spirit he spake 
Of yesterday : the morrow now long since 
Had dawn'd : there standing, suddenly we heard 
A voice from an unfathomable depth 
(And Oriel touch'd me saying, " It is the voice 
Of hell's dethroned monarch ") as it seem'd, 
In shame and humiliation infinite, 
Making confession to himself and God : 

" For ever lost : this is the second death : 970 

Meet end for me who whisper'd in the ear 
Of fragile man, Ye shall not surely die. 
So flattering falsehood spake to me. Man fell ; 
And falling, as I knew too well, he died. 
The Lord is righteous ; I have sinn'd and die. 
Lost, lost : nor could I crave it otherwise. 
What would I otherwise ? escape from chains ? 
Were not we loosed from prison, I and mine, 
And only madly heap'd upon ourselves 
Fresh torment by fresh crime ? Nay, in our death 980 
Eternal Justice hath alone fulfill'd 
The equal sentence of Eternal Love. 
Me miserable ! freedom were worse than bonds ; 
And life to me more terrible than death. 
Myself alone am cause of all my woe. 
Mercy constrain'd the stroke. Left to itself*. 



368 THE LAST JUDGMENT. [BOOK 

My maniac suicidal wickedness 

Had still inflicted worse upon itself, 

And upon all beneath its cruel rule. 

Goodness has hung these chains around my limbs. 996 

God, I bow for ever at Thy feet, 
The only Potentate, the only Lord. 

1 see far off the glory of Thy kingdom 
Basking in peace, uninterrupted peace : 

Hut were I free, and were my comrades free, 

Sin mightier than myself and them would drag 

Our armies to perplex those fields with war. 

Only thus fetter'd can we safely gaze 

On this the final victory of love, 

Virtue and goodness triumphing, and grace 1000 

Evolving out of darkness light in heaven. 

Thus only to the prisoners of despair 

Can Mercy, which is infinite, vouchsafe 

Far glimpses of the beauty' of holiness, 

Albeit a beauty which can never clothe 

Ourselves, the heirs of everlasting wrath. 

Woe, woe, immedicable woe for those 

Whose hopeless ruin is their only hope, 

And hell their solitary resting-place. 

Lost, lost : our doom is irreversible : 101<t 

Power, justice, mercy, love have seal'd us here. 

Glory to God who sitteth on the throne, 

And to the Lamb for ever and for ever." 

The voice was hush'd a moment ; then a deep 
Low murmur, like a hoarse resounding surge, 



XI.] THE LAST JUDGMENT. 369 

Rose from the universal lake of fire : 

No tongue was mute, no damned spirit but swell'd 

That multitudinous tide of awful praise, 

" Glory to God who sitteth on the throne, 

And to the Lamb for ever and for ever." 1020 



END OP THE ELEVENTH BOOK. 



24 




Book Etatfflb. 



THE MANY MANSIONS. 



Yet once more, Harp of prophecy, once more 

Fondly I come soliciting thine aid ; 

By whose celestial minstrelsy inspired 

The saintly Enoch walk'd with God and sang 

At cloudy morning-tide of evening light. 

Thine were ttie strains that floated o'er the waves 

From Miriam's timbrel and from Moses* tongue ; 

And thine the suasive melodies, that made 

The royal shepherd on his lute forecast 

The golden morrow from the vex'd to-day. 1 o 

Nor was he in thy tuneful lore unlearn'd, 

Who interwove the lyrics of the Bride 

And idyls of the Bridegroom. Taught by thee, 

Isaiah gazed with eagle eye athwart 

The conflicts of a thousand years thrice told 5 

And Jeremy, and rapt Ezekiel, 

And all the prophets prophesied ; and chief 



THE MANY MANSIONS. 371 

The seer who, moated by the fretting waves 

In Patmos, open'd his responsive breast 

To the pure impulses, which only thou 20 

Canst echo from eternity to time. 

But not, as these great masters of the lyre, 

Invoke I thee : for they at God's own voice 

Came near and laid their fingers on thy chords, 

And by the Spirit empower'd drew forth the tones 

Immediate from the sacred fount of song. 

And I would only sit beneath their feet, 

And earnest catch the echo of their strain, 

And with faint imitative notes attempt 

To win the pilgrim's ear, who listening me 80 

Haply may ask whence I such music drew, 

And so become a votary of thine, 

As I am. From a boy I loved to sit 

The while thy numbers thrill'd my soul, and since 

Life with its ruder noises and rough cares 

Has somewhat dull'd mine ear, thine, prescient harp. 

Thine oftentimes has been the only spell 

Of virtue to arouse my laggard spirit. 

And now once more in this my last assay, 

Only this once, I ask thy heavenly aid 40 

(My task is almost done, a task, and yet, 

When thou hast breathed, a sweet necessity), 

That 1 may catch, if few and far away, 

Some glimpses of the infinite To be. 

The judgment had an end. The great white throne 
Was hidden in excess of light. And lo, 



372 THE MANY MANSIONS. [BOOK 

The earth, emerging from her flood of fire 

Baptismal, by a new and heavenly birth 

Arose regenerate. The dews of God, 

As once in Eden, cool'd the ardent soil ; 50 

And rivers from innumerable springs 

Flow'd intersecting every gorgeous clime 

With living waters. Like a smile of light 

The Sun of Righteousness in rising shed 

Healing from His benignant wings ; and earth, 

Who came forth naked from her bath of flame, 

Felt His rich blessing at her heart, and smiled 

Responsive, and in blushing haste put on 

Her beautiful robes of immortality. 

Her late apparel was not found. But now 60 

The azure hyaline, in which she moved, 

Was not more pure than was her virgin dress. 

No trace of her great sufferings remain'd ; 

No wrecks of time were strewn upon her shores ; 

No monuments of ruin ; — saving one : — 

Where Satan with his rebel peers had erst 

Built on the mystic Babylon his throne. 

There rose a solitary mountain peak, 

The one volcano of that new-born world, 

Thrust from beneath by struggling fires, and thence 7C 

Ever by day and night, world without end, 

A thin white wreath of smoke went up to heaven, 

And quickly melted in the golden beams 

Which ever from the height of Zion flow'd : 

Symbol of deeper things. The sea was not: 

Its salt and barren waters were consumed 



XII.] THE MANY MANSIONS. 373 

In that last fire ; and all its fruitless wastes, 

Once fruitless, now with profuse verdure clad, 

In undulating hills and valleys, bared 

Untrodden landscapes to the light. Nor deem 80 

Because the ocean was no more, earth lack'd 

Her noblest type of the profound and free, 

Nor heaven its mirror. For the streams of life, 

Flowing incessant, stored their crystal wealth 

In countless pools and lakes and inland seas, 

Wherewith the sportive breezes wantoning 

Drave billows crested with their diamond foam 

On emerald shores, or in whose lucid calm 

The stars slept imaged. Earth from pole to pole 

Was one illimitable Paradise ; 90 

Albeit Emmanuel's land was as that spot 

In Eden, where the blossoming tree of life 

Grew with the tree of knowledge intertwined, 

The presence-chamber of the King of kings, 

The temple of the world. And thence the saints 

(As sometime from Armenian Ararat, 

The sons of Noah) spread o'er every clime, 

Good without fear of evil beckoning them, 

Life without fear of death embracing them, 

All pleasure without pain refreshing them, 100 

All sunshine without sorrow in their hearts, 

All music without discord in their homes. 

So they on earth : but where were we the while ? 
When from the judgment-throne Messiah rose 
To jrlorv. we arose with Him ; the heavens 



374 THE MANY MANSIONS. [BOOK 

Pealing their jubilant welcomes as we pass'd ; 

And all the armies of the sons of God 

Clapping their wings of fire before the Bride, 

And shouting for the Bridegroom's voice, with sound 

Of trumpets and melodious harps ; until 110 

The everlasting arches rang again, 

And that Light-sea which floods the universe 

Trembled with its impulsive waves for joy, 

And Heaven in ecstasy of rapture ask'd, 

What were those echoes of triumphant mirth 

That thrill'd creation from the central throne 

To its remotest bound. So pass'd we on, 

Until the ramparts of the heaven of heavens 

Stretch'd like a wall of fire along the expanse, 

And those great portals carved of solid pearl 120 

(Through which had flown no wing unhallowed, since 

The Son of God ascending cleansed with blood 

And seal'd the Holiest) now wide open thrown, 

Nor henceforth closed, for foes were now no more, 

With songs received our singing multitudes ; 

And through the provinces of bliss we swept 

On towards the city of the living God. 

Before us now it rose, builded aloft 
Upon the heavenly Zion. Never eye 
Of mortal man had seen, nor ear had heard, 130 

Though ravish'd with the distant fame thereof, 
Glory like this ; the handiwork of God, 
And fashion'd of heaven's choice material, light, 
Through which the Light of Light translucent shone ; 



XII. J THE MANY MANSIONS. 375 

The mansion of Creation's Architect ; 

The palace of the Everlasting King: 

Its gates of pearl, its edifice of gold ; 

Its very streets of pure crystalline gold ; 

Its walls on twelve foundations superposed 

(Of which divine realities the earth 14< 

Can only lend its feeble semblances), 

The jasper streak'd with many a tender dye, 

The sapphire of celestial blue serene, 

The agate once Chalcedon's peerless boast, 

The fathomless repose of emerald, 

The ruby, and blood-tinctured sardonyx, 

The chrysolite like amber sheathing fire, 

The beryl emulous of ocean's sheen, 

The opal-tinted topaz clear as glass, 

The soft pale purple of the chrysoprase, 150 

The Melibcean hyacinth, and last 

The lucid violet of amethyst. 

But not of pearly gates, or golden streets, 

Or bulwarks, or foundations built of jewels 

Thought we that day, or linger'd to admire ; 

For we were on our way to meet our God. 

The city had no temple ; for itself 
From wall to wall, from base to pinnacle, 
Was one harmonious veilless sanctuary, 
One Holiest of all : of which the shrine 16a 

Reveal'd amid the clouds of Sinai 
Yielded the earliest pattern. This the house 
Which Israel's royal seer in symbol saw, 



376 THE MANY MANSIONS. [BOOK 

And by the Spirit's hand on his described. 

This the beloved apostle, rapt in spirit 

To some high watch among the lasting hills, 

Beheld. Most blessed, beatific sight ! 

Here veil'd in radiant clouds, clouds only call'd 

From the supreme of brightness they enfolded, 

Was set the throne of Majesty in heaven. 170 

In front seven ever-burning lamps of fire, 

Which are the Spirits of God : and round about 

Mysterious cherubim, instinct with eyes, 

Fourfold in glory, symbolized in forms 

Of lion-like imperial royalty, 

Of patient sacrificial ministry, 

Of human, more than human sympathy, 

Of soaring eagle-plumed intelligence, 

Most highest of all creatures, whereof each 

Caught and reflected some peculiar rays, ISO 

Some distinct aspect of his Lord ; but all 

Uniting in one everlasting song, 

Cried, " Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of hosts." 

And here around were four-and-twenty thrones 

In wider circuit, like a starry belt, 

And on them four-and-twenty hierarchs 

In priestly' apparel, but with kingly crowns, 

Sitting sublime. And in mid view, behold, 

What seem'd the likeness of a sea of glass. 

But not on glassy sea, or royal priests, 190 

Or cherubim of glory gazed we then ; 

For we were on our way to meet our God, 

Children about to see their Father's face. 



XII.] THE MANY MANSIONS. 377 

Parent and child, O purest fount that flows T 
Earth, fallen earth, had known thy heavenly spell : 
In whose deep waters selfishness dissolved 
And was not, like the sicknesses that fled 
At touch of angel-moved Bethesda's pool, 
Though tinctured then by many a noxious plant 
That grew upon its trampled marge, of power 200 

To dim but not destroy its healing life. 
A babe upon its mother's breast, a child 
Lock'd in a father's arms — oh, things that are ! 
Love coming forth of love and meeting love ; 
Love resting in its love and satisfied. 
And knew the earth such mysteries ? what now 
When through the temple courts fragrant with praise 
The Bridegroom led His own, His only Bride, 
Into His Father's presence, His and ours? 
Were they the parted wings of cherubim, 210 

Or opening clouds of glory which disclosed 
Such lineaments of love unutterable, 
Attemper'd as the spirit of each could bear ? 
No pain, no shrinking from excessive bright, 
No sense of discord, no tormenting fear 
(For filial love had cast out servile fear), 
The Spirit's grace within us meeting grace 
Unfathomable, and we His holy ones 
Drinking our fill of perfect holiness. 
Yet seem'd it every thought in one was lost, — 220 
Whether the words were audible to those 
Who stood around in endless ranks of light 
I know not, but they echoed in my heart. — 



378 THE MA.NT MANSIONS. [BOOK 

It was my Father's voice saying, " My child : " 
And every power within me vibrated 
To those divinest words, — whether I spoke, 
Or whether others spoke, I never knew, — 
" My Father, O my Father ! " Beams of love, 
The repercussion of His beams of love, 
Fill'd every chamber of my soul with light, 230 

As in pure waves face answers back to face ; 
Nor though eternity unfold the powers 
Of knowledge, — and to know Him is to love, — 
Can beatific blessedness transcend 
The rapture of that welcome, that response, 
" My child .... My Father." Heaven has nothing 
higher. 

The angels gazed in silent ecstasy : 
For now it seem'd as if Jehovah turn'd 
The glory of His countenance full-orb'd 
Upon the Son ; that glory, which on us 24u 

Shone only as each child could bear its light, 
Resting upon the Everlasting Son 
In all unveil'd effulgence : not one beam 
Of its unmitigated splendor lost, 
But from His face reflected, beam for beam. 
In the One Spirit's communion infinite, 
Uninterrupted fellowship. And then 
(Alas ! the feebleness of words to tell 
Those wonders passing wonder) but it seem'd 
The Eternal Father slowly rising placed 250 

A crown, which in itself was many crowns. 



XII.] THE MANY MANSIONS. 379 

Upon the head of the Eternal Son : 

And from amidst the throne a Voice was heard 

Commanding Hallelujah. And forthwith 

From cherubim and burning seraphim, 

And from the hierarchal presbytery, 

Aud from the Bride low at her Bridegroom's feet, 

And from the principalities and powers, 

And hosts of angels rank'd in endless files, 

As sounds the roar of mighty multitudes, 26C 

Or rush of many waters in still night, 

Or thunders echoing from hill to cloud, 

Arose that pealing coronation hymn — 

" Crown Him for ever, crown Him King of kings ; 

Crown Him for ever, crown Him Lord of lords ; 

Crown Him the glorious Conqueror of hell ; 

Crown Him the Everlasting Prince of Peace ; 

Crown Him Jehovah, Jesu, Lamb of God, 

Hallelujah ! Hallelujah ! Amen." 

But, ere the sound of their great anthem sank, 270 

In waves of rapture on the walls of heaven, 

The Son Himself appear'd on bended knee 

Stooping before His Father's throne to kneel, 

And place that diadem of many crowns 

Upon that radiant footstool, then and there 

Presenting us and all the ransom'd Church, 

Yea and Himself as Man, to God submiss, 

Filial obedience as conspicuous now 

As had been filial power, His Father's gift. 

This adoration paid as man, as God 280 

He at His Father's bidding re-assumed 



380 THE MANY MANSIONS. [BOOK 

His session on the throne of Majesty, 

Radiance with radiance interfused, great depths 

Of light, known only to the Spirit of light. 

And as in silent awe we knelt and gazed, 

And gazing worshipp'd, we beheld no more 

The glory of the Father, Son, and Spirit, 

Each by itself distinct, but all Triune, 

The Trinity in Unity express'd, 

One Uncreated, One Almighty, One 290 

Eternal, One Incomprehensible, 

One Lord, One God. And God was all in all. 

Time measured not such raptures. But at last 
It seem'd as rising from the sapphire throne 
Messiah led us forth at large to view 
The city' Himself had builded and prepared 
After His Father's counsel for His Bride, 
A city, or a temple, or a home, 
Or rather all in one. Enrich'd it was 
With every exquisite design of love, 300 

And every form of beauty. Not a film 
Stain'd its bright pavement of transparent gold ; 
Not a harsh murmur vex'd its silences, 
Or with the melodies of angels jarr'd. 
No cloud darken'd its empyrean. Joy 
Held court here in its own metropolis. 
And through the midst the crystal river flow'd 
Exhaustless from the everlasting throne, 
Shaded on either side by trees of life 
Which vielded in unwearying interchange :?10 



XII.] THE MANY MANSI0N3. 381 

Their ripe vicissitude of monthly fruits 

Amid their clustering leaves medicinal ; 

Of fruits twelve manner ; for eternity, 

Measured by ages limitless to man, 

Has intervals and periods of bliss 

And high recurring festivals that stand 

On the sidereal calends mark'd in light. 

Through these celestial groves the Lamb of God 

Led us delighted Every sight and sound 

Kavish'd the sense : aud every loving heart 320 

Reflected joy to joy and light to light, 

Like crystals in a cave flashing with fire, 

And multiplied our bliss a million-fold. 

O blessed royal priesthood ! priests and kings 

Under the Great High Priest and Prince of Peace, 

Who now in tender grace assign'd to each 

His priestly' abode within the House of God 

(So Solomon around his temple built 

The chambers for its stated ministries) 

Where each might be alone with God, or mix 330 

In converse with his fellow-saints at will, 

Adorn'd with those peculiar gifts He knew, 

"Who knows us better than we know ourselves, 

"Would gratify those tastes and feelings most 

Himself had planted : delicate delights ; 

If little, loving from their littleness, 

"Which nought but Love could ever have devised ; 

If rich and large, more precious from the love 

That gave them than from excellence or cost ; 

The bounties of a Father's thoughtralness, 340 



382 THE MANY MANSIONS. [lJOOK 

The tokens of the Bridegroom's tenderness, 
Gifts of the Spirit and with His love instinct. 

Oft in my mansion would some elder saint 
(For dignity was there humility) 
linger and tell his story, or ask mine : 
Or I would listen from an infant's lip 
A tale of such delightsomeness as pour'd 
New meaning into words henceforth. And oft 
A group of the beatified, enlink'd 

In all the bonds of holy lineage, 360 

Would cluster underneath the trees of life, 
One eye kindling another, one deep thought 
Waking another thought, and this another, 
Until all bosoms overliow'd with love, 
And all perforce would hasten to the throne, 
And at their Father's footstool pour their hearts 
In one full tide of common rapture forth. 

Sweet was the intercourse of saint with saint ; 
Nor less of saints with angels. Now appear'd 
The lustrous promise which ordain'd at first 360 

That in Messiah's Bridal angelhood 
Should find its perfected felicity : 
Whether rejoicing in the Bridegroom's joy ; 
Or drinking in the beauty of the Bride ; 
Or with some ward, as Oriel oft with me, 
Retracing in astonish'd retrospect, 
How good from evil, light from darkness sprang 
By counsel of All- wise Almighty love. 



Xn.] THE MANY MANSIONS. 383 

Nor wanted heaven its hours of such repose 
As added zest to ministry, or walks 370 

Of patient meditative solitude, 

Thought following thought through links of argument, 
The heart retiring in itself to muse 
On God, His works and ways. Much as we knew, 
Infinite marvels were unknown. As one 
Who climbing some far height at break of day 
Among the Alps or lonely Apennines 
Sees ever at his feet new landscapes spread, 
New vales, new glittering lakes, new summits piercing 
The roseate sky with pinnacles of snow, 380 

The air still purer crystal, and the arc 
Of fresh horizons widening every step, 
Yet at the highest touches not the fringe 
Of heaven's blue curtains, and when seeing most 
Sees but a narrow fragment of God's world : 
So ever learning more we never stood 
Nearer the limits of His love, whose name 
Is always through all ages Wonderful, 
And, as it has been, shall be : things reveal'd 
Only discovering more beyond our ken : 390 

There, as on earth, experience working hope, 
Celestial hope who knows no blush of shame, 
The child of patience. Hence they err'd, who taught 
That in His presence faith and hope are lost 
Who is the God of patience and of hope. 
Things once invisible were visible ; 
Things hoped for present : but beyond them all 
Illimitable fields untravell'd lay ; 



384 THE MANY MANSIONS. [_BOOE 

And over these faith saw God's rainbow cast, 

And young-eyed hope wing'd many an airy flight. 400 

With these dwelt love, by men call'd charity, 

And of the peerless sisterhood herself 

Was chief; her sweet pre-eminence then seen, 

When unawares, as oft, the Prince Himself 

Gladdening our lonely meditation came, 

And from things past would teach us things to be, 

Till in the sunshine of His smile we saw 

Darkly no more, no longer in a glass, 

But gazing face to face, and eye to eye, 

Knew the Beloved as ourselves were known. 410 

By such delicious solitude refresh'd, 
Not loath we sought society again ; 
For here we never from His Presence went 
Who is the glory of heaven's light : but chief 
What time the trump of God, by Michael blown, 
Summon'd our glad rejoicing multitudes 
To holy convocation. And had hearts 
Of weary pilgrims in the wilderness 
Oft fainted for His courts of prayer, and found 
His earthly tabernacles amiable, 420 

Uttering their wants in broken sobs and sighs, 
And listening the story of His love 
From tremulous lips ? Had many a spot appear'd, 
Where two or three thus gather'd in His Name, 
The house of God and very gate of heaven ? 
O far exceeding weight of glory, when 
Angels and saints, commingling hosts of light, 



XII. "I THE MANY MANSIONS. 385 

No laggard heart, no voice unmatch'd or mute, 

We knelt before our Father's visible throne, 

And saw the Sevenfold Spirit as lamps of fire, 430 

And read our names upon Messiah's breast, 

And heard the music of His robe (the while 

He pass'd the crystal sea bearing aloft 

The incense of His meritorious love), 

And saw Him touch the golden mercy-seat, 

And worshipp'd, as the Oracle of God 

Came, from amid Cherubic wings, proclaiming, 

" This is My Son Beloved ; hear ye Him." 

And when the Prince, the Prophet of His Church, 

Spake of His Father in our ears, and show'd 440 

The unfathomable glories of His Name, 

Until the love which dwelt in the Triune 

Dwelt in our hearts, — Emmanuel, God with us ; — 

And oftentimes, Chief Minstrel as Chief Priest, 

While every heart was vibrating with love, 

Himself sang Hallelujah, to the sound 

Of thousand times ten thousand angel harps 

Which instantly in perfect unison 

Roll'd from the golden floor their waves of joy 

Against the empyrean's crystal roof; 450 

Then who could choose but swell the mighty tide 

Of music with concerting harp and voice, 

Until the courts of Zion were fulfill'd 

With fragrance of delight and songs of praise V 

From such a Sabbath festival it was 
(After what blissful ages know I not), 
2fi 



386 THE MANY MANSIONS. [BOOK 

Messiah from the Bridal city led 

Down through the starry firmament His Bride, 

Not unaccompanied with angel choirs 

And gorgeous trains of seraphim and thrones, 4G0 

Towards her native earth. Flushes of joy 

Suffused her cheek with gladness. To compare 

Celestial and terrestrial things, as when 

The consort of some mighty Emperor, 

Raised by his sovereign will to share his tin-one, 

After long years revisits with her lord 

The sweet home of her childhood, and with all 

A child's first ecstasy and bloom of joy 

Wanders from room to room, and walk to walk, 

And each dear spot indelibly engraved 470 

On memory's tablet, saying, " Here it was 

My father taught me first to lisp his name : 

Here first my mother clasp'd my hands in prayer ; 

This was my favorite knoll ; and in this glen, 

Well I remember, thou didst speak to me 

That summer evening what was in thy mind, 

And win this timid heart, — O foolish heart ! 

Fearing to trust its happiness with thee, 

My lord, and better than my lord, my love." 

Not otherwise, nor less delightful seem'd 480 

To us returning from the heaven of heavens 

Our birthplace earth. And easily we found 

Each haunt to memory dear of pilgrim days, 

Each hill and valley ; for the flood of fire 

Which wrapt the earth in its baptismal robe, 

Had purged, not changed its lineaments: as once 



XII.] THE MANY MANSIONS. 387 

The deluge of great waters overwhelm'd 

All life, except the cradled Church, but left 

Creatiou's landmarks and the river beds 

Coasting the land of Shiuar undisturb'd. 490 

The wastes of ocean only were no more, 

Nor wastes of sand, nor aught of barrenness ; 

And yet the earth through all her vast expanse 

Of golden plains and rich umbrageous hills 

Already seem'd too narrow for the growth 

Of her great human family ; so quick 

The virtue of her Maker's law, when once 

Sin's crushing interdict was disannull'd, 

That primal law, " Be fruitful ; multiply 

Your joys ; replenish and subdue the earth." 500 

Blest mandate ! blest obedience ! Earth was full 

Of goodness, full of glory, full of grace : 

A perfect image of high heaven : the globe 

One temple, all mankind for worshippers, 

Israel for priests : and now the prayer we used 

To pray, " Our Father, Hallow'd be Thy Name; 

Thy kingdom come ; Thy will be done in earth, 

As by Thy angel ministries in heaven," 

Was turn'd into a thousand forms of praise, 

And sung from hill to hill, from clime to clime, 510 

Innumerable infant choristers 

Swelling the deeper tones of youth and age, 

In holy matins and in vesper hymns. 

Great thoughts were stirring in the hearts of men< 
And hopes too big for utterance : yet were none 



388 THE MANY MANSIONS. [BOOK 

Who deem'd their present rapture capable 

Of such enlargement as was theirs, when now 

Messiah, who had heretofore reveal'd 

His Presence in Jerusalem alone, 

Came with His Virgin Bride and angel choirs, 520 

And tabernacled upon earth again, 

And visited not only His own land, 

But every country, every home, and left 

Some token of His love in every heart, 

The Son of Man among the sons of men. 

Not least their rapture when as He was wont 

He touch'd their eyes with heavenly balm ; and lo, 

They saw in heaven the city of His Bride, 

Its gates of pearl, its streets of limpid gold, 

Its walls on bright foundations built, and walks 530 

By crystal streams shaded by trees of life. 

Nor, if the rebel Regent of the air 

Once had such power to represent the world 

Comprised as in a moment to His eye, 

Marvel that He the rightful Prince had power 

To show His children that Jerusalem 

Of glory, which is mother of us all, 

Descending out of heaven from God it seem'd, 

Though distant far. And, while He show'd it them, 

He told them of its undeclining light, 540 

And blessed vision of His Father's face, 

And royalty of service, promising, 

Their earthly ministry approved, to' enroll 

Their names among the citizens of heaveD 

And freemen of His sinless universe. 



XII. J TIIE MANY MANSIONS. 889 

Haply such perfectness of earthly bliss 

And such far vistas of celestial light 

Had overcharged their hearts. But not in vain 

The awful chronicles of time. And oft, 

When dazzled with the glory and the glow 5.V 

That stream'd from Zion's everlasting hills, 

Messiah or His ministers would tell 

Rapt auditors how Satan fell from bliss, 

The story of a ruin'd Paradise, 

The foughten fight, the victory achieved, 

But only with the endless banishment 

Of damned spirits innumerable and men 

From heaven and heavenly favor which is life. 

Nor seldom He, who strengthen'd human sight, 

As with angelic telescope, to read 54*0 

The wonders of the highest firmament, 

"Wonld bid them gaze into the awful Deep 

Couching beneath ; and there they saw the lost 

For ever bound under His dreadful Eye 

Who is eternal and consuming fire, 

There in the outer darkness. And the view 

So wrought in them, that perfect self-distrust, 

With pity not unmix'd and tender tears, * 

Lean'd ever on their God for perfect strength. 

That which men witness'd of the damn'd in hell, 570 
By unction of the Spirit at God's command, 
Was in our gaze at will, whene'er the smoke 
In mighty volumes rising from the Deep, 
Blown devious by God's breath athwart the void, 



390 THE MANY MANSIONS. [BOOK 

Dispersed. Nor turn'd we always from the sight, 

Although it touch'd the inmost springs of grief, 

And stirr'd our bosoms from their depths. Hell was : 

The fact, and not our vision of the fact, 

Was their unending anguish and our grief, 

A. grief which chasten'd but not jarr'd our bliss. 580 

Should not the children share their Father's thoughts ? 

Should not the Wife her Husband's counsels learn ? 

Learn ever more and more ? Let it suffice 

That in the depth, as in the height above, 

God was Supreme ; His righteousness coufess'd 

In dread Gehenna as His love in heaven ; 

Absolute order reigning ; of the lost 

Some scourged with many stripes, with fewer some, 

All underneath the footstool of His throne 

Subdued, submiss. This we beheld and knew. 590 

And in the cloudless joys of heaven and earth 

Haply this sight and knowledge were to us 

The needful undertones of sympathy 

With Him, who was in days of mortal flesh 

A man of sorrows conversant with griefs, 

The necessary fountain-spring of tears, 

The sign and sacrament of pride abased 

And creature humiliation without end. 

Cloudless indeed our joys in earth and heaven, 
Ceaseless our ministry, and limitless 600 

The increase of that government and peace, 
Messiah's heritage and ours. For as 
Our native orb ere long too strait became 



XII. J THE MANY MANSIONS. 391 

For its blest habitants, not only some 

Translated without death, for death was not, 

As Enoch, join'd the glorified in light ; 

But at the voice of God the stars, which roll'd 

Innunierous in the azure firmament 

By thousands and ten thousands, as He spake 

Six words of power, the seventh, it was done, 610 

Were mantled and prepared as seats of life : 

And it was ours to bear from earth and plant, 

Like Adam, in some paradise of fruits 

The ancestors of many a new-born world ; 

Like Adam, but far different issue now, 

Sin and the curse and death for ever crush'd. 

And thus from planet on to planet spread 

The living light. As when a white-robed priest 

Himself, surrounded by his acolytes, 

In some vast minster, from the altar fire 620 

Lighting his torch, walks through the slumb'rous 

aisles, 
And kindles one by one the brazen lamps 
That on the fluted columns cast their shade 
Or from the frescoed ceiling hang suspense, 
Until the startled, sanctuary is bathed 
In glory, and the evening chant of praise 
Floats in the radiance : so it was in heaven : 
God's temple, the expectant firmament, 
Hung with its lamps, innumerable stars ; 
The Priest, Messiah ; earth, the altar flame ; 630 

Angels and saints, the winged messengers ; 



392 THE MANY MANSIONS. [BOOK Xli. 

And that great choral eucharist the hymn 
Of all creation's everlasting praise. 

Such are the many kingdoms of God's realm ; 
And in these boundless provinces of light • 
We who once suffer'd with a suffering Lord 
Reign with Him in His glory, unto each 
According to his power and proven love 
His rule assign'd. But Zion is our home ; 
Jerusalem, the city of our God. 640 

O happy home ! happy children here ! 
blissful mansions of our Father's house! 
O walks suipassing Eden for delight ! 
Here are the harvests reap'd once sown in tears : 
Here is the rest by ministry enhanced : 
Here is the banquet of the wine of heaven, 
Riches of glory incorruptible, 
Crowns, amaranthine crowns of victory, 
The voice of harpers harping on their harps, 
The anthems of the holy cherubim, 650 

The crystal river of the Spirit's joy, 
The Bridal palace of the Prince of Peace, 
The Holiest of Holies — God is here. 



THE END. 



NOTES. 



NOTES. 



BOOK I. 



THE SEER'S DEATH. 



St. Paul's adoption of the word prophet to describe the Cretan bard 
Epimenides (Titus i. 12) appears to justify the use of seer in an 
equivalent sense. Compare 1 Sam. ix. 9. 

Line 1. The lost day of my earthly pilgrimage. 

From Homer downward, it has been usual for those who would 
picture the unseen world to imagine the descent of a living man to 
Hades. This, so far as we know, has never happened, and cannot 
happen. And it seemed to me more natural to make the attempt 
at least of conceiving that which is taking place almost every breath 
we draw, I mean the passage of a disembodied spirit to the world of 
spirits. 

Line 25. / was scarcely more, &c 

See Dante, Inferno, Canto 1, line 1. 

Line 78. Its true gauge. 
" In Hi9 unerring sight who measures life by love." Keblo. 

Line 321. Of him who caWd his son " a stranger here.** 
Compare Exod. ii. 22 with Ps. xc. 1. 



See John xiv. — xvii. 
See 1 Cor. xv. 20—57. 



Lines 327—834. 
Lines 335— 34S. 



896 NOTES. [book 

Line 350. The vision, &c. 
Rev. xxi. 2. — xxii 5. 

Line 392. A Presence. 
See Isa. xliii. 2. 

Line 406. They err who tell us, that the spirit un:lothed, &c. 
The historic narratives of Samuel's disembodied spirit appearing 
and speaking to Saul (1 Sam. xxviii. 14), and of Moses, whose body 
v.as buried by God (Deut. xxxiv. 6), being seen by the three Apos- 
tles, and discoursing with our Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration 
( Luke ix. 31), may confirm the statements here made. 

Line 438. Saintly apparel. 
See 1 Sam. xxviii. 14. Rev. vi. 11. 

Line 446. All ear, all eye, all feeling, and all heart 
See Paradise Lost, Book vi., line 350. 

Line 499. The angelical convoy. 
Luke xvi. 22. 

Line 505. Ere we setfoi-th, rise brother, and look round, &c. 
The numerous and well authenticated appearances of the human 
spirit, within a few hours of death, seem to indicate that God does 
sometimes permit such a lingering on earth as is here described, ere 
the soul enters the unseen world. 

Line 518. There were more spirits than men, &c. 

Compare the following Scriptures : " The angel of the Lord encamp- 
eth round about them that fear Him " (Ps. xxxiv. 7). " The moun- 
tain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha" (2 
Kings vi. 17). "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to 
minister to them that shall be heirs of salvation V" (Heb. i. 14.) 
" We wrestle against principalities, against powers, against the rulers 
(rove KOGfioKpaTopac) of the darkness of this world, agai ist spiritual 
wickedness in high places (ra 7rvev/j.aTiKu rr/c rcovrjpiac kv rote kirov 
pavioLC, 4 the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly regions.' 
Ellicott)" (Eph. vi. 12). Also 1 Cor. iv. 9. 2 Cor. ii. 11. 1 Thess. 
ii. 18. 

Line 533. The fallen wore, &c. 

" Satan himself also is transformed into an angel of light." 2 Cor. 
xii. 14. 

Lines 559—567. 
Compare 2 Tim. ii. 26. 



[.] NOTES. 397 

Line 671. An angel stooped, &c. 
See Ps. xci. 11. 

Line 625. Distemper'' d phantasies, or spirts unblest. 

One or other of these disastrous alternatives must, I fear, explain 
the reputed wonders of spiritualism, wherever they are not wilful 
impostures. 

Line 671. The road to Paradise a long descent. 

The almost uniform testimony of Scripture points to Hades as a 
egiou below. The dying are spoken of as " going down to the pit," 
or "going down into silence." Samuel's spirit said to Saul, " Why 
hast thou disquieted me to bring me up?" (1 Sam. xxviii. 15.) 
So we read " David is not yet ascended into the heavens " (Acts ii. 
34). Our Lord says of Himself, " The Son of Man shall be three 
days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matt. xii. 40). 
And St. Paul writes of Him, "He descended first into the lower 
parts of the earth" (Eph. iv. 9). 

From these and similar Scriptures, some have thought that the 
Paradise of the Blessed Dead, as well as the prison of the Lost, was 
actually situate within the crust of our terrestrial globe. But this 
Divine language may only be an accommodation to our earthly 
thoughts of height and depth. And there is one deeply interesting 
passage of Holy Writ, which appears to indicate that the Hades 
to which our Lord's disembodied human spirit went betwixt His 
death and resurrection is as much to be regarded below our earth, as 
the heavens of glory to which He ascended from Olivet are to be 
regarded above it. I refer to 1 Pet. iii. 18 — 22. As the local structure 
of my poem in some measure depends upon it, I may be permitted to 
make an extract from my Commentary on the New Testament — 
" Because even Christ suffered once on account of sins (trapl auapriuv 
— i.e. an atoning sacrifice for sins, the usual m»me for the sin-offer- 
ings in the LXX version being ra nepl a/uapnvv), the just on behalf 
of the unjust — a Sinless Victim in the stead of sinful mankind— hav- 
ing been put to death in (His human) flesh, but quickened in spirit 
(irvtvfiaTi, omit t<jj with best MSS.) — i.e. His tf'senibodied human 
spirit — in which (human spirit) also lie went a journey (noo , 'v$£ic f 
compare iropevdtic etc ovpavov ver. 22) and preache*l (Znqputjev, as a 
herald proclaiming tidings) to the spirits in prison (<j>vXany, compare 
Job xiv. 18; fa ady \ii t§vka$ac, LXX), which (spirits) were some- 
time disobedient — refusing to repent before the door of the ark was 
Bhnt — when the long-suffering of God was waiting {(me&dexero. so th« 
best MSS) in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preprtrifj icJttro- 



398 NOTES. [book 

intc («f Tjv) entering — few persons, that is eight souts, were saved 
(duoudnaav, 'thoroughly saved,' perhaps implying both in body and 
soul) by means of water — for the water which buried the rest of the 
world upbore the ark of their salvation. 

" That the time here spoken of i-s the interval betwixt the death 
and resurrection of our Lord, during which His human spirit was 
separated from His human flesh, appears from the emphatic contrast 
o c His death with respect to one, and his life in the other (davarudelc 
uev 6apni, ^uoTTOLndslg 6e Trveifiari). Compare Rom. i. 3, 4, and 1 
Tim. iii. 16. That an actual journey from place to place is described 
(ver. 19) is evident from the use of the same word (Kopevdtig, 'having 
travelled ') there, and in ver. 22, where it must signify a local transi- 
tion from earth to heaven. The comparison of one verse with another 
precludes any metaphorical adaptation of the term 'journeyed.' 
That this mission of Christ to the souls in Hades is nowhere else 
recorded by the Holy Spirit will never stagger those who believe 
that every word of God is true. That by the phrase ' He preached * 
(kKTjpv^Ev) is intimated the announcement of the work of redemption 
is almost certain from other passages where it thus stands by itself, 
and from a comparison of the answering term (evnyyefaodri, ch. iv. 6). 
That the day of grace, the time of salvation, is every where in Holy 
Scripture limited to the brief space of lite is true; but this hinders 
not such a proclamation of mercy to those who, after the door of 
temporal safety was shut, may have truly repented of their guilt, and 
found forgiveness with God before they were overwhelmed with the 
rising waters. That the destruction of the body is not inconsistent 
with the salvation of the soul, in the case of repenting sinners, we 
know from other instances of Divine compassion. And, finally, that 
the descent of Christ to Hades, a fact which, like His death, standi 
alone and admits not of repetition, should be illustrated with signal 
acts of royal clemency is only in accordance with those miracles of 
mercy which ever attended His steps. 

" For further notes upon this difficult, but most interesting, portion 
of Holy Writ I must refer the reader to Wordsworth's cautious and 
reverent exposition — an exposition entirely in harmony with the 
third article of the Church of England as first published, viz., 'That 
the body of Christ lay in the grave till His resurrection, but Hie 
spirit which He gave up was with the spirits which are detained in 
prison, or in hell, and preached to them, as the place in St. Petei 
iestifieth.' These words were afterwards omitted, but our Church 
sufficiently indicates her interpretation of this Scripture by appoint 
uag it to be read as the epistle on Easter even " 



n.] notes. 399 

From this it appears that the Divine Spirit describes our Lord's 
descent to Hades by the same word (Tropevdeic) which relates Ilia 
ascent to heaven. In both cases He went a journey, first descending, 
afterwards ascending. And as in the latter case our thoughts travel 
upwards with Him who passed through the heavens (ftaA?/Autfora 
roi)c ovpuvovc, Heb. iv. 14 ) to the throne of glory, so in the former 
they travel downwards with Him to the Deep into which He de- 
scended for our sakes. 

Line 676. Oriel, i.e. " Light or flame of God." 
The Hebrew word might be indifferently rendered Uriel or Ooriel : 
but I have selected this modification, the name " Uriel" having been 
traditionally appropriated to one of the seven chief angels; which 
tradition I observe, Book iv., line 192. 

Line 787. One world, but widely sunder'd by a gulf. 
Compare Luke xvi. 22, 23. 



BOOK II. 

Line 23. Back with melodious sound they scfUy flew. 
See Paradise Lost, Book vii., line 207. 

Line 149. Without Him heaven were but a desert rude. 
See Keble's Christian Year, Fourth Sun. after Easter, line 9. 

Line 166. His brightness shone, &c 
Dan. viii. 15 — 18 ; and x. 6 — 17. 

Line 169. The Apocalyptic seer. 
Rev. i. 17. 

Lines 181—188. 
" We shall be like Him; for (on) we shall see Him as He is." 
I John iii. 2. 

line 854. A babe in glory is a babe for ever. 
This seems a necessary inference from such Scriptures as declare 
that the harvest hereafter is according to the seed sown here; Gal. vi 
7. 2 Cor. ix. 6, &c. 



400 NOTES. [BOO J 

Line 372. A link beticixt mankind and angelhood. 
This thought, and the one below of infants in glory resembling th« 
lily work in Solomon's temple, were suggested by a friend. 

Line 462. The strange saluce ojr father. 
See 1 Cor. iv. 15. 1 Thess. ii. 19, 20. The joy of this spiritual 
relationship has its earnests on earth, which we may well believ* 
will be deepened in Paradise, though awaiting the resurrection for its 
full glory. 

Line 554 While words, &c. 
Rev. I 6, 6. 

Line 587. The Increate alone is self-sustain' d. 
See Paradise Lost, Book v., lines 404 — 433, and especially the 
words, 

" For know whatever was created needs 
To be sustain'd and fed." 
The passage had escaped my memory while writing my lines, which, 
were probably an unconscious echo of Milton's. 

Line 600. They who weep on earth shall laugh, &c. 
Luke vi. 21. 

Line 623. A cloud of witnesses. 
Heb. xii. 1. 

Line 642. Be knew who spake of trees. 

1 Kings iv. 33. 

TJne 667. Saints wait their blight apparelling. 

2 Cor. v. 4. 

Line 786. AH are not equal there. 

" For orders and degrees 
Jar not with liberty, but well consist." 
Paradise Lost, Book v., line 792. 

Line 801. Manyfrst were last, &c. 
Matt. xix. 30. 

Line 828. Of such babes as these, &c. 
Matt. xix. 14. When we remember what multitudes of little chil- 
dren, not only from Christian but also from heathen lands, are 
gathered home before they have committed actual sin, and are thus 
saved in Christ for ever, may we not believe that there is a direct 
historic fulfilment of these words of our Lord, as well as a spiritual 
meaning underlying them? 



nr.j notes. 401 

Line 839. A mystic time and times and half a time. 
Compare Dan. vii. 25 with Rev. xi. 3. 

Line 852. Antipas. 



Rev. ii. 18. 

See Eph. iii. 18. 19 
Matt. iii. 3. 



Lines 875, 876. 
Line 884. The voice 



Lines 890—892. 
" No wonder that even the holy mother when she gazed on tbnt 
august assemblage, when she saw, as perchance she might have seen, 
the now aged Hillel the looser, and Shaminai the binder, and the wise 
sons of Betirah, and Rabban Simeon, Hillel's son, and Jonathan the 
paraphrast, the greatest of his pupils, when she saw these and such 
as these, all hanging on the lips of the Divine Child, no wonder she 
forgot all." Ellicott's Historical Lectures, p. 92. 

Line 934. The matins of the Church. 
Gen. iv. 26. 

Line 980. They are not perfect here. 
For the testimony of Scripture to the state of the disembodied 
saints before the resurrection, the writer would venture to refer his 
readers to a little work of his called " The Blessed Dead." 

Line 1002. Two diverse from the rest. 
It appears from the words of our Lord to Nicodemus (John iii. 18), 
that, when they were uttered, no man had ever ascended to the 
heavens of glory; and, if Enoch and Elijah had not then ascended, 
we may well believe they still await this lofty privilege with all the 
other saints of God. See note on Book vii. 595. 



BOOK HI. 

Line 21. Tartarean night. 
I have throughout this poem attempted rigidly to abstain from in- 
terweaving classical mythology with Scriptural realities. It has not 
been always easy to observe this restriction with phrases and stories 
familiar from childhood. But the above expression is no exception 
26 



402 NOTES. [boob 

to the rule I imposed upon myself, of only introducing those terms 
for the usage of which I could appeal to Holy Writ; for St. Peter, 
speaking of angels who sinned, says, that " God having cast them 
down to Tartarus {rapraotjaag), delivered them into chains of dark- 
ness." (2 Pet. ii. 4.) 

Line 25. Vet deignest in the contrite heart to' abide, &c. 
See Paradise Lost, Book i., lines 17 — 23. 

Line 77. A horrid chasm. 
See Luke xvi. 26. 

Line 93. Darkness alone, &c. 
"A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of 
death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness." 
(Job x. 22.) 

Line 131. Needs not the shining of created light. 
In this, as in some other points, I have ventured to believe that 
Paradise will anticipate the glory that is to be revealed, for in Para- 
dise we shall be with Him who is the true, the archetypal Light. 

Line 142. A shield, &c. 
See Exod. xiv. 20. 

Line 144. Wliofain would pass, &c. 
See Luke xvi. 26. 

Line 149. Listening we might catch, &c. 
So Abraham is represented by our Lord as hearing the words of 
the rich man in Hades. 

Line 191. Those angels who forsook their high estate. 
See note on Book v., lines 807 — 817. 

Line 225. God's gift. 
See Gen. xxv. 21. Esau and Jacob were both of them given by 
God to Isaac in answer to prayer. 

Line 230. The moated fortress of a faithful house. 
See Ps. xcl 9—11. Prov. iii. 33. 

Line 253. Maxentius hurried, vowing to his gods, &c. 
" When Maxentius went forth to battle, he went fortified by 
heathen oracles, the champion of heathenism against the champion 
of the cross." Elliott's Horce, Vol. i., p. 243. 

Line 286. Not circumvented, &c 
See 1 Tim. u. 14. 



III.] NOTES. 403 

Line 310. The labarum emblazoned with the cross. 
" From as early a date as that of the great battle with Maxentius, 
according to the testimony both of Lactantius and Eusebius, Con- 
etantine adopted the cross as his distinctive military ensign. That 
object of abomination to the heathen Romans was seen glittering on 
the helmets, engraved on the shields, and interwoven with the ban- 
ners of his soldiers. The Emperor's own person was adorned by it, 
wrought of richest material and of finest workmanship. Above all, 
in his principal banner, the labarum, he displayed the same once ac- 
cursed emblem, with a crown of gold and gems above it, and tha 
monogram of the name of Him who after bearing the one now wore 
the other." Elliott's Horce, Vol. i., p. 239. 

Line 614. With ponderous noise, &c. 
See Paradise Lost, Book ii., line 880. 

Line 536. And then and there upon that guilty man, &c. 
This thought was first suggested by Southey's Kehama, xxiv. 18. 

Line 579. Know that Omnipotence can but perform, &c. 
From the words, "He cannot deny Himself" (2 Tim. ii. 13), we 
learn there is that the Almighty cannot do. He cannot deny Him- 
self, either falsifying His word, or acting contrary to the counsels of 
His own infinite wisdom and righteousness. Omnipotence, therefore, 
is not the power of doing whatever blind man may conceive possible, 
but cf accomplishing all that Omniscient Goodness sees to be right. 
I woidd refer the reader to some noble thoughts on this in Birka' 
Difficulties of Belief. 

Line 596. And not in utter solitariness. 
Compare Job iii. 18. Ps. xlix. 14. Isa. xiv. 16. 

Line 624. He caught a glimpse, &c. 
Lake xvi. 23. 

Line 700 Doth not consume in thee the secret spring. 
On the request of the rich man to Abraham that Lazarus might 
bo sent to his brethren lest they also should come to that place of 
torment (Luke xvi. 27 — 31), Matthew Henry writes, " He desired the 
preventing of their ruin, partly in tenderness to them for whom he 
could not but retain a natural affection; he knew their temper, their 
temptations, their ignorance, their infidelity, their inconsideration, and 
wished to prevent the destruction they were running into; partly in 
tenderness to himself, &c" Holy Scripture does not oblige us to 



404 NOTES. [book 

believe, with some theologians, the utter extinction of all natural feel- 
ings in the lost, but rather leads us to infer that, in proportion as they 
have depraved and vitiated those feelings on earth, do they suffei 
everlastingly. So Milton says — 

" For neither do the spirits damned 
Lose all their virtue." 
Paradise Lost, Book. ii.. line 482. And doubtless that Perfect Equity 
which distinguishes on earth the right acts of evil men (see for ex- 
ample, Jehu, 2 Kings x. 30, 31), must ever distinguish degrees of 
guilt. 

Line 750. Of this 1 will relate hereafter. 
Book viii. 291—594. 

Line 762. The seven last angels, &c. 
Rev. xv. and xvi. 

Line 780. Announcing to the prisoners of wrath, &c. 
I have ventured to believe that the Advent cry, " Behold He cometh 
with clouds," which has been so often raised in Christendom during 
the last* half-century, has not been without its echo in the under- 
world of spirits. Such reverberations seem to be according to the 
analogy of Providence. 

Line 831. God would, hit could not save me 'gainst my wiU. 
Compare "The Pharisees rejected (f/dirnaav, in margin 'frus- 
trated') the counsel of God" (Luke vii. 30); and also the pathetic 
words, " How often would I (qti&noi) . . . and ye would not (oin 
TitiOjioart)," Matt, xxiii. 37. 

Lines 862 to 874 beginning If here, &c. 
See Book xi., where this thought is further unfolded. 

Line 875. For God Himself has sworn, &c. 
See Phil. ii. 9 — 11, where we read, " That in (h>) the name of Jesus 
every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth, and 
things undeh the earth {naTaxdoviuv), and every tongue confess 
that Jesus Christ is Lord." The expression "the things under the 
earth " Wordsworth, in his Notes on the Greek Testament, interprets 
" especially of Death and the Grave . . . and Satan himself and alL 
the powers of darkness; " and says, " The sense is best explained by 
Rev. v. 13, where the creatures beneath the earth join in ascribing 
honor to the Lamb." The momentous addition here of the things 
under the earth, compared with their equally notable absence in the 



IV.] NOTES. 405 

parallel passages, Eph. i. 10. Col. i. 20, seems to import that, while 
lost angels and men are never reconciled to God or gathered together 
in Christ, hut are consigned at the judgment to everlasting punish- 
ment, they will be for ever reduced to compulsory submission, and in 
this state of absolute order will ascribe glory to God. There will be 
no anarchy even in that world of outer gloom. The days of regnant 
rebellion are numbered. Christ must reign, till lie hath put all ene- 
mies under His feet. See further notes on Book xi. 

Line 891. Silence reigned. 
Compare " The wicked shall be silent in darkness," 1 Sam. ii. 9 

Line 910. As they had sinn'd, they suffered. 
Luke xii. 47, 48. 

Line 1024. What time a mighty conqueror, &c. 
Compare Isa. xiv. 4 — 20. 

Line 1042. The captive angels, &c. 
See note. Book v. 807—817. 

Line 1052. Such were those who sought, &c. 
See Luke viii. 31, " They besought llim that lie would not com- 
mand them to go out into the deep (etc tjjv u3vcaov, rendered *' bot- 
tomless pit," Rev. xx. 3). The entreaty betokens, as expressed by 
another Evangelist, their fear of " torment before the time " (Matt 
viii. 29.) 



BOOK IV. 

Line 11. A babe of more than human beauty wept. 
Exod. ii. 6. In Acts vii. 20, we read the infant Moses was 
'exceeding fair" (aareioc ro> Qeu, "fair to God," or fair in God's 
sight"). 

Line 15. Rivalry of hearts. 
1 Sam. xx. 41. 

Line 18. Who wash'd her Saviour's feet. 
Luke vii. 37, 38. 

line 37. Let David witness. 
Vs. lvi. 8. 



406 NOTES. [book 

Line 46. Blind and bereft. 
Paradise Lost, Book iii., lines 51 — 55. 

Line 49. And he, who touched, &o. 
" The Winter Walk at Noon." Cowper. 

Line 56. He wept with agonizing groans. 
Heb. v. 7. 

Line 93. Of evil overcome, &c. 
1 Cor. xv 25, 26. 54. Rev. xx. 14. 

Lines 136—138. 
Comparo Heb. i. 2 and xi. 3, " He made the worlds " (tovc altivoc) 
or " the ages." 

Lines 171, 172. 
See Gen. xviii. 1, 2; xix. 1; and Acts i. 10, &c. 

Line 182. No angelic parentage. 
Hence angels are called the sons of God (Job xxxviii. 7), as is 
Adam (Luke iii. 38). 

Line 186. Lucifer, the first. 
Isa. xiv. 12. 

Line 189. Michael the prince. 
Dan. x. 13; xii. 1. 

Line 190. Gabriel, God's swift winged messenger. 
Dan. ix. 21. 

Lines 191, 192. Raphael and Uriel. 
These, with the two last named, were according to the rabbins the 
four angels who surround the throne of God. R. Bechai: the book 
Zohar. 

Lines 192 — 194. Barakiel, Ramiel, and Raamiel. 
Among the angels whose names have come down to us by Jewish 
tradition. Layard's " Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon," pp. 509— 
523. 

Lines 195, 196. 
Dumah or Duma (silence) the angel who presides over the dead. 
Lailah (night) the angel who presides over conception: Yorekemo, 
the angel who is lord over the hail: and Suriel (access to God), an 
angel called " prince of the face," because he is continually in the 
presence of God. I am indebted for these Talmudic names to my 
learned friend, the Rev. John Ayre, whose kind interest in this poem, 



1V.J NOTES. 407 

before its publication, I must take this opportunity of gratefully 
acknowledging. 

Line 201. Thrones, virtties, principalities, and powers. 
" Whether they be thrones {dpovot), or dominions ' KVoioTTjTer), or 
principalities (apxai), or powers {k$ovoiai)" Col. i. 16. 

Line 220. I found myself alone. 
See Milton's exquisite description of Adam awaking to life 
Paradise Lost, Book viii., lines 250—337. 

Line 233. An Angel among angels. 

" The Angel of His Presence saved them." Isa. lxiii. 9. 
Lines 295—301. 

On the interpretation of the living creatures and crowned elders, aa 
being angelic, not human, I must venture to refer to the notes in my 
Commentary on Rev. iv. 4 — 6 and v. 9, 10, the reading now generally 
approved of the last passage running thus, " Thou redeemedst them, 
i.e. the saints, to God by Thy blood, and hast made them (avrovc) 
onto our God kings and priests, and they reign {ftaGiT^vovoiv) on the 
earth." If this reading be adopted, the testimony of Scripture else- 
where is uniform in favor of their angelic nature. 

Line 306. Envy was unknown. 
So Plato, " Envy stands aloof from the celestial choir " (<j>d6vog yap 
e£u deiov xopov lararau Phtedrus, iii. 247). 

Line 322. Our earliest name. 
Deut. xxxiii. 2. Jude 14. 

Line 336. Marked by sidereal orbit?. 
" The same principles of the intersections of the solar and lunar 
periods, by which the units of the ordinary calendar are determined, 
when carried further up the ascending periods of time, produce even 
from the abstract relations of the celestial periods, the larger but 
corresponding units of 30 and 360 years, or the prophetic month 
and time. ... A Divine ladder of time is set before us, and, as we 
rise successively from step iO step, days are replaced by years, and 
years by millennia; and these perhaps, hereafter, in their turn by 
some higher unit from which the soul of man may measure out cycles 
still more vast, and obtain a wider view of the immeasurable grand* 
eur of eternity." Birks' Elements of Prophecy, pp. 371, 372. 

Line 383. Firmament of morning stars. 
Job xxxviii. 7. 



408 NOTES. [book 

Line 390. Which saith to Me, Thou art My only Son. 

See Ps. ii. 6, 7. "Yet have I set ('anointed' Hebrew) My King 
upon My holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath 
said unto Me, Thou art My Son; this day have 1 begotten Thee." 
Here the words "Thou art My Sou " appear to proclaim the Eternal 
Godhead of the Word as being from everlasting to everlasting the 
coequal Son of the Father; and the words "This day have I begotten 
Thee " to declare His manifestation as the Christ in time, a mani- 
festation crowned and consummated by His resutrection (Acts xiii- 
83). Thus in Hebrews xiii. 8, where we read "Jesus Christ is the 
6ame yesterday, to-day and for ever," yesterday seems to respect the 
infinite past, to-day the course of time, and for ever the ages of an 
eternity to come. 

Lines 403—409. 

" God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of glad- 
ness above Thy fellows " (Ps. xlv. 7). And the Second Psalm quoted 
in the last note appears to point to some declaration of the Eternal 
Father's sovereign pleasure respecting the Eternal Son, the Heir of 
all things, as the occasion, or at least one occasion, of such anointing. 

Lines 422—449. 
See Birks' Difficulties of Belief, " On temptation in free agents," 
and " On the creation and fall of angels." 

Lines 534 — 545. Made of the dust, &c. 

" Man in virtue of his original creation occupies a central place 
among all the works of God. His immortal spirit links him with 
the hosts of angels, and he is only a little lower than they. Yet his 
animal life links him equally with the whole circle of animated and 
organized being, while his body formed of the dust, is linked with 
all the planetary spheres by the laws of material gravitation. . . . 
The nature thus assumed [by the Son of God] in its original consti- 
tution admits of a perpetual increase, by which it may reflect, in the 
largest measure any created being is capable of doing, the absolute 
infinitude of the Uncreated Being." Birks' Ways of God, " On the 
Incarnation," pp. 108 — 111. And with respect to man's central posi- 
tion, see the corresponding truth regarding his terrestrial home, as 
sketched by Dr. Whewell in his most convincing essay, where he 
proves, " The Earth is really the domestic hearth of this solar system, 
adjusted between the hot and fiery haze on one side, the cold and 
watery vapor on the other." Of the Plurality of Worlds, p. 320 



V."| NOTES. 409 

Line 625. Wrapt tn impervious mists, &c. 
Geology seems to have established (1) that the earth has existed 
for vast periods of time before the creation of man; (2) that each 
period terminated with an epoch of convulsion; (3) that each period 
was an advance on the condition of the one preceding it; (4) that 
the last great convulsion, by which the mountain chains of the Alps 
und Andes were thrust from below, occurred probably not more than 
ten thousand years ago. Now such a convulsion must have reduced 
our planet to the state described in the words " The earth was (or 
rather ' had become') without form and void, and darkness was upon 
the face of the deep " (Gen. i. 2). I believe, therefore, in common 
with many, that the first verse of Holy Scripture narrates the original 
creation of the heavens and earth; that the second verse describes 
the state of confusion to which our globe had been reduced by the 
last great terrestrial convulsion which preceded the history of our 
species ; and that the narrative which follows is an optical description 
of six literal days' creative work (each day probably corresponding 
to some vast geological period) during which our world, as it now is, 
was fashioned by God in the sight of the angelic hosts. See Hitch- 
cock's Geology; Birks' Bible and Modern Thought; McCaul'a Essav 
in Aids to Faith; McCausland's Sermons in Stones. 

Lines 648—652. 
See Hugh Miller's " Vision of Creation," Testimony of the Rocks. 

Line 949. God of the world and guardian of mankind. 
The titles ascribed to Satan and his angels appear to me too ex- 
plicit to be understood of merely usurped dominion, " the prince of 
this world" (John xii. 31, &c), "the god of this world" (2 Cor. iv. 
4), "the prince of the power of the air" (Eph. li. 2), " the rulers of 
the darkness of this world" (Eph. vi. 12), &c. The devil probably 
veiled a falsehood under a garb of truth, when he said to our Lord, 
" All this power will I give Thee, and the glory of them: for that i= 
delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it " (Luke iv. 6^ 

Line 967. The Bridegroom's friend. 
S-98 John iii. 29. 



BOOK V. 

Line 23. Nor odds appeared, &c 
St* Birks' Difficulties of Belief, pp. ftl, 92. 



410 NOTES. [BOOK 

Line 61. Unf alien had Lucifer received his charge. 
When our Lord says, " He (the devil) was a murderer from the be- 
ginning, and abode not in the truth" (John viii. 44), the word ren- 
dered " murderer " (avdpunoKrovoc ), strictly " manslayer," indicates 
that no time anterior to the creation of man is intended, and seems to 
prove not only that the devil was the first sinner, but that the mur- 
der of our first parents' innocence was his first overt act of successful 
rebellion. Compare 1 John iii. 8. 

Line 67. Earth had not kept her circling birthday yet. 
This seems probable from the birth of Cain being subsequent to 
the expulsion of Adam and Eve from paradise. 

Line 177. Another image of Omnipotence. 
" Ita fornicatur anima, cum avertitur abs te, et quaerit extra te ea 
quae pura et liquida non invenit, nisi ciim redit ad te. Perverse te imi- 
tantur omnes qui longe se a te faciunt, et extollunt se adversum te. 
Sed etiam sic te imitando indicant creatorem te esse omnis naturae; 
et ideo non esse qub a te omni modo recedatur. Quid ergo in illo 
furto ego dilexi : et in quo Dominum meura vel vitiose atque perverse 
imitatus sum? An libuit facere contra legem saltern fallacia, quia 
potentatu non poteram, ut mancam libertatem captivus imitarer faci- 
endo impune quod non liceret, texebrosa omnipotenti^k simili 
tudine. Ecce est ille servus fugiens Dominum suum, et consecutus 
umbram. putredo, O monstrum vitas, et mortis profunditas. 
Potuitne libere quod non licebat, non ob aliud, nisi quia non licebat." 
S. Augus. Confes. liber ii. 14. % 

Line 235. Who, if prolific as foretold, shall fill, &c 
Gen. iii. 15. Matt. iii. 7. John viii. 44. 1 John iii. 8. 

Lines 354 — 356. 
See Paradise Lost, Book iv., lines 323, 324. 

Line 438. Then first I saio, then spake I. 
See Paradise Lost, Book ix., lines 549 — 732. Whether Miltor 
was the first to suggest that the serpent ascribed its own power of 
speech to the virtue of the fruit of the forbidden tree, I know not. 
But when once suggested, the thought appears so natural and neces- 
sary that any other method of approach would seem constrained 
and unlikely. 

Lines 506—525. 
See Paradise Lost, Book ix., lines 900 — 916. 



7.] NOTES. 411 

Lines 538—647. 
See Paradise Lost, Book ix., lines 1G3 — 171. 

Line 601. First altar, and first holocausts. 
"It is extremely probable that some beasts, sacrifued by Divine 
appointment, furnished the skins with which A Jam and Eve wen? 
clothed." Scott 

Line 626. The mercy-seat. 
The cherubim are always represented in Holy Writ as in imme- 
diate attendance on the Divine Majesty when God stoops to com 
munion with his creatures, or succors them in their hour of need. 
Thus the flaming sword appears symbolic of the Divine justice, aud 
the cherubim of the Divine mercy. See this subject ably discussed 
in Duns' Biblical Natural Science, who states in continuation of his 
own view, " The most eminent expositions left in the world, which 
are the two Jewish Targums, paraphrase the verse thus, 'And He 
thrust out the man, and caused the glory of His presence to dwell of 
old, at the East of the garden of Eden, above the two cherubim.' " 
Vol. i., p. 146. 

Line 651. Myriads have fall' n : myriads twice told are firm. 
"And his (the dragon's) tail drew a third part of the stars of 
heaven, and did cast them to the earth." Rev. xii. 4. This Scrip- 
ture, though as I believe describing events subsequent to our Lord's 
ascension, may afford some clew to the relative numbers of the elect 
and fallen angels. Compare Paradise Lost, Book v., line 710. 

Lines 682—694. 
Compare Job ii. 3. 

Line 707. Patient because Eternal. 
JSternus est, tardat, longanimis est. S. Aug. in Ps. xci. 6. 

Lines 719—730. 
Compare Dan. x. 13. 20. 2 Pet. ii. 11. Jude 9. 

Line 781. Clasp'd as the promised Seed. 
" Some render the words I have gotten a man from the Lord (Gen. 
iv. 1), I have gotten a man, the Lord." This sense is grammati- 
cally the most natural one. Eve may have supposed that the promise 
(Gen. iii. 16) was now fulfilled." Wordsworth. 

Lines 790—797. 
Compare Gen. v. 24 with Jude 14, 15 



412 NOTES. L BOOK 

Lines 807 — 917 Uziel and Samchasai his mate. 

These were the traditional names of the angels who fell and inter- 
married with the daughters of men (Targuni Jonathan). See Gen. 
vi. 1 — 4. The judgment of the Jewish Church and of the most an- 
cient fathers was express, that by " the sons of God," there named, 
angels were intended. Thus Josephus writes, " For many angels of 
God accompanied with women, and begat sons that proved unjust, 
and despisers of all that was good, on account of the confidence they 
had in their own strength." To which statement Whiston appends 
the note, " This notion, that the fallen angels were in some sense the 
fathers of the old giants, was the constant opinion of antiquity." 
And such, as Wordsworth, who is not himself of this opinion, says, 
was the view of Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Irenseus, Athenagoras, 
Cyprian, and others. Since their time the current of interpretation 
has set in the opposite direction, and these " sons of God " have been 
held to be the godly descendants of Seth. But of these judgments, 1 
am persuaded the old was better. 

In the first place, sons of God was then a distinctive name for 
angels. See Job i. 6; ii. 1; xxxviii. 7. The last is most emphatic, 
for it states that at the creation, when men were not, " All the sons of 
God shouted for joy." Secondly, in the passage itself the contrast is 
marked and express betwixt the spiritual nature of the sons of God 
and the complex nature of those with whom they mingled in unholy 
wedlock. Thirdly, it is to this lapse of angels that in all probability 
both St.. Peter and St. Jude refer. The former writes, *' God spared 
not angels (ayyiTiuv, there is no article) that sinned, but having cast 
them into hell, delivered them to chains of darkness, reserved unto 
judgment " (2 Pet. ii. 4). The latter, "And angels (again there is no 
article, — angels, not men only), those who kept not their own prin- 
cipality {apxrjv), but left their proper habitation, He hath kept under 
darkness with everlasting chains unto the judgment of the great day " 
(Jude 6). 

Other Scriptures, which speak of evil angels as having still free 
range over our fallen world (Job i. 7. 1 Kings xxii. 21. Zech. iii. 1. 
Matt. iv. 3. Mark v. 9. Eph. ii. 2; vi. 12. Rev. xii. 9—12), pre- 
clude our referring the words of St. Peter and St. Jude, quoted above, 
to all the angels who have fallen from their allegiance. And it seems 
most probable that the allusion is to Gen. vi. 1 — 4; for St. tiude pro- 
ceeds to refer to Sodom and Gomorrah. Of which cities he says that 
they " in like manner to these (tovtoic, i.e. these angels) having given 
themselves over to fornication, and having gone after strange flesh, 
undergo the vengeance of eternal fire." The angels that fell debased 



V.] NOTES. 413 

their high original by commingling with the daughters of men : the 
inhabitants of Sodom not only lived in unnatural crimes (Rom. i. 27), 
but burned in their lust towards the celestial visitants who came 
under the shadow of Lot's roof. The rebel angels were cast down to 
Tartarus. The cities of the plain were overwhelmed with fire and 
brimstone, an awful type of the doom of their inhabitants. Thus like 
sin was visited with like indignation. 

Faber, in his Many Mansions, speaks very contemptuously of this 
view, as " sundry strange incongruous fables," and says, "such idle 
tales the masculine mind of Milton rejected as forming no meet sub- 
ject for poetry to any one who reverenced the Scriptures: he (Milton) 
rightly views the Mosaic sons of God as men, the once grave and holy 
posterity of Seth. See Paradise Lost, xi. 556 — 627." Be it so: but 
what were Milton's later and more matured thoughts, as expressed in 
Paradise Regained (Book ii., lines 178 — 181)? 

"Before the flood, thou [Belial] and thy lusty crew, 
False titled sons of God, roaming the earth, 
Cast wanton eyes on the daughters of men, . 
And coupled with them, and begot a race," &c. 

Milton's masculine mind, therefore, veered to the view here advo- 
cated, which can however only be decided by the general analogy of 
Scripture, and this seems to me decisive in its favor. See Birks' 
Difficulties of Belief, p. 95 ; and the question argued under " Giants." 
Smith's Dictionary of the Bible. 

Line 836. Grieved uriihin His heart, &c. 
See Gen. vi. 6. 

Lines 900—920. 

See note on Book i., line 671: to which I would only add a few 
words from Wordsworth's Commentary, who writes on Gen. vii. 21, 
" We may well believe that, as the flood increased very gradually, 
many may have repented who were not able to reach the ark ; and 
the Holy Scriptures reveal to us that the death of Christ and His 
descent into the place of departed spirits were not without benefit to 
them." And again on 1 Pet. iii. 20 " St. Peter says that the rest 
disobeyed while the ark was preparing. He uses the aorist tense, 
aireidijGacc. He does not say that when the ark had been prepared, 
and when the ark was shut, and when the flood came, and it was too 
late for them to reach it, they all remained impenitent. Perhaps 
some were penitent at the eleventh hour, like the thief on the cross." 



414 N0TE8. [BOOK 

BOOK VI. 

Line 45. Some obscure suppliants. 
Gen. iv. 26. 

Lines 96—118, and 160—179. Baalim and Ashtaroth. 
" Ashtcreth was the principal female deity of the Phoenicians, at) 
Baal was the principal male deity. It is a peculiarity of both name9 
that they frequently occur in the plural, and are associated together 
in this form (Judg. x. 6. 1 Sam. vii. 4; xii. 10). Gesenius main- 
tained that by these plurals were to be understood statues of Baal and 
Astarte ; but the more correct view seems to be that of Movers, that 
the plurals are used to indicate different modifications of the divinities 
themselves. In the earlier books of the Old Testament only the 
plural Ashtaroth occurs, and it is not till the time of Solomon, who 
introduced the worship of the Sidonian Astarte, and only in reference 
to that particular goddess Ashtoreth of the Sidonians that the singu- 
lar is found in the Old Testament (1 Kings xi. 5. 33. 2 Kings xxiii. 
13)." Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, under Ashtoreth. My sug- 
gestion explains the plural form as in the parallel case of the holy 
cherubim and seraphim, described indifferently in the singular or plu- 
ral number (Ps. xviii. 10; lxxx. 1. Ezek. x. 15, 20,) — whose asso- 
ciation, however, is not represented as precluding distinct and separate 
action (Isa. vi. 6. Rev. xv. 7). 

Lines 100—106. 
See Herschel's Outlines of Astronomy, Sec. 833 — 851. 

Lines 119—139. 



See Gen. xi. 1—9. 



See Rev. ix. 11. 



Line 141. ApoUyon. 



Line 151. Ourselves o'er them presidiny. 
Dan. x. 13. 20. 

Line 171. Mylitta calVd. 
" Among the groups of winged figures was a curious representation 
of the Assyrian Venus, Mylitta or Astarte, in an indecent posture, 
which indicated the peculiar nature of her worship." Layard'a 
Nineveh, Vol., ii. p. 7. 

Lines 215—219. 
See Prov. vii 26, 27. 



VI. 1 NOTES. 415 

Lines 233—263. 
See Paradise Lost, Book i., lines 678—688. 

Line 265. Moloch. 
This fire-god was the tutelary deity of the children of Ammon: see 
1 Kings xi. 7. And it is of this god Moses writes " Thou shalt not 
'ot any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech " (Lev. xviii. 21) 

Line 381. subtle Sammael. 
Sammael {blindness, or ignorance of God), the angel of death (Tar 
gum Jonathan). 

Lines 420—424. 
See Ps. ii. 4 ; xxxvii. 13. Prov. i. 26. 

Lines 464 — 474. 
In symbol of the great leviathan, 
The dragon, &c. 
Compare the words of the prophet, " O arm of the Lord, awake, as 
in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that 
hath cut Rahab (Egypt), and wounded the dragon? Art thou not it 
which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep ; that hath 
made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over? " 
(Isa. Ii. 9, 10) with the earlier prediction of a still future triumph, " In 
that day the Lord with His sore and great and strong sword shall 
punish leviathan, the piercing serpent, even leviathan, that crooked 
serpent; and He shall slay the dragon that is in the sea " (Isa. xxvii. 
1); and with the description of leviathan, "He beholdeth all high 
things: he is a king over all the children of pride " (Job xli. 34). 

Line 483. Twice ten thousand char'iots. 
Ps. lxviii. 17. 

Line 502. Moloch's shnne and Remphari's star. 
Acts vii. 43. 

Line 521. Gaunt altars rose, &c. 
I Kings xi. 7. 

Line 562. And slept. 
This may be inferred from " the secret being revealed in a night 
vision " (Dan. ii. 19). 

Line 608. Chaldea's monarch, brooding o'er his dream. 
It seems probable that the image of gold which Nebuchadnezzar 
Bet up in the plain of Dura was a perversion of his dream; and 
possible that the furnace, into which the three children were cast, was 
that in which the metal had been fused for the gigantic idol. 



416 NOTES. [book 

Line 640. Descending with the speed of seraphim. 
" Whiles I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, . . . being 
caused to fly swiftly, touched me," &c (Dan. ix. 21.) These words 
appear to prove that intervals of space, however swiftly traversed, 
Are not annihilated for angels. 

Lines 644—650. 
See Dan. x. xi. xii. 



BOOK VII. 



Line 23. Of Jacob's dream. 
Gen. xxviii. 10—22. 

Line 25. Funereal rites on Pisgah's brow. 
Compare Deut. xxxiv. 6 with Jude 9. 

Line 27. Of that Arch-fend, &c. 
Job. i. 6, and ii. 1. 

Line 32. Of David moved by him, &c. 
1 Chron. xxi. 1. 

Line 33. Of the strife on Carmel, &c. 

1 Kings xviii. 19 — 40. 

Line 36. Of the car, that fiery car, dec. 

2 Kings ii. 11. 

Line 40. Of that false emissary, &c. 
1 Kings xxii. 21. 

Line 42. Of Joshua, son of Josedech, &c. 
Zech. iii. 1. 

Line 62. Watchman, what of the night ? 
Isa. xxi 11. 

Line 94. Finding the rigid interdict relaxed, &c. 
" That whole period was the hour and power of darkness, of a 
darkness, which then immediately before the dawn of a new day 
was the thickest It was exactly the period for such soul- 
maladies as these [demoniacal possessions], in which the spiritual 
and the bodily should be thus strangely interlinked, and it is nothing 
wonderful that they should have abounded then: for the predouiiD- 



VII.] NOTES. 417 

nnce of certain spiritual maladies at certain epochs of the world's 
history, which were especially fitted for their generation, with their 
gradual decliue and disappearance in others less congenial to them, 
is a fact itself admitting no manner of question." Trench on Mira- 
cles, p 162. 

Line 113. A heavenly cohort arm , d, &c. 
" And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heav- 
enly host " (oToaTidc, " army ") (Luke ii. 13). In the Avord " army " 
we may discern an intimation that this hour was not without peril 
from the hosts of darkness, who we know crowded in their malignity 
round the death of the Saviour (Luke xxii. 53), and would doubtless 
have gladly disturbed His birth. 

Line 133. Took of the lamps, &c. 
The words of St. Matthew, " And lo, the star which they saw in 
the East went before them till it came and stood over where the young 
child was " (Matt. ii. 9.), seem to decide that this miraculous appear- 
ance was some luminous meteor, like a star, which was not so distant, 
but that it seemed to move, and thus beckon the wise men to follow 
its leading. If so, it was probably through angelic agency. 

Line 150. Mary kept her secret close. 
Luke ii. 19. 

Line 153. His brethren, for (hey err, &c. 
In Matt. xiii. 55, 56 we read, " Is not this the carpenter s son ? is 
not His mother called Mary ? and His brethren, James, and Joses, 
and Simon, and Judas V and His sisters, are not they all with us V " 
Many have sought to prove that by the brethren and sisters here 
named cousins are intended: but the simplest and fairest interpreta- 
tion is, that they were the younger brothers and sisters of our Lord, 
the children of Mary and Joseph after the birth of Christ. They are 
mentioned after the marriage in Cana as going down with Ilis mother 
to Capernaum (John ii. 12). They came with His mother to speak 
with Him (Matt. xii. 46. Mark iii. 31. Luke viii. 39). The only 
place in the Gospels where they are spoken of without Mary, is John 
vii. 3 — 10; but there it is added, "they did not believe on Him," 
which could not be said of her. And, when next we read of them, 
it is again with Ilis mother (Acts i. 14). Such is the witness of the 
New Testament; and there is a verse in the Old Testament (Ps. lxix. 
8) which is strongly corroborative of this view. It is eminently a 
Messianic Psalm. And here we find not only "I am become a 
Rtranger unto my hrethren, u which might admit of a wider iuterpre- 
27 



418 NOTES. [book 

tation, but also, " and an alien unto my mother's children" which 
allows of but one meaning. The virginity of Mary before the birth 
of Christ is a great truth taught us by God Himself: her perpetual 
virginity afterwards is, I believe, a fiction of man, without any war- 
Tant of Holy Scripture. See Alford's note on Matt. xiii. 55. 

Line 177. Tlieir father sank. 
It seems almost certain from Joseph appearing in no incident of 
Our Lord's public ministry, that he had died previously. 

Line 264. Eastward towards the wilds of Araby. 
That the scene of the temptation was not the region between Jeru- 
salem and Jericho, but the wilderness of Arabia, appears probable 
from the incident mentioned by St. Mark, that our Lord " was with 
the wild beasts; " and from the typical histories of Israel, Moses, and 
Elijah. See Wordsworth's note on Mark i. 13. 

Line 345. For on these very rocks, &c. 
Deut. viii. 3. 

Line 352. The dizzy porch, &c. 
" The most probable opinion is that ' the pinnacle of the temple ' 
was the topmost ridge of the arou fiaoikuiT], on the south side of the 
temple." Ellicott. 

Line 413. To me committed, &c. 
See note on Book iv., line 949. 

Line 534. The crest of snoioy Eermon. 
" Standing amid the ruins of Caesarea, one does not need to ask 
where the Mount of Transfiguration is. Hermon, the grandest and 
most beautiful of all the mountains of Palestine, has established its 
claim to the title of the holy mount." (The Giant Cities of 
Bashan, p. 103.) Hermon's perennial snows may have suggested the 
words of the Evangelist, " His raiment became shining, exceeding 
white as snow" (Mark ix. 3). The traditional mountain, Tabor 
was at that time probably crowned with a cast'.e, and therefore 
almost certainly not the site. 

Line 543. Brought them, one bodiless, embodied one. 
See note on Book ii., line 1002. 

Lines 574—590. 
Luke x. 17—20. 

Line 592. The lonely Epkraim. 
John xi. 54. 



711.] NOTES. 419 

Line 595. Whose disembodied spirit we sometime kept. 
The words " Christ is risen from the dead, the firstfruits of them 
that slept" (1 Cor. xv. 20), 6eem to indicate that although others 
had heen raised from the dead hefore the resurrection of our Lord (1 
Kings xvii. 22. 2 Kings iv. 35; xiii. 21. Matt. ix. 25. Luke vii. 15. 
John xi. 44), His human spirit was the first which repassed the 
gates of Death, and re-ascended from Hades to earth. Hitherto, 
vestiyia nulla retrorsum. 

Line 606. The rule of lowly triumph, &c. 
Luke xix. 28—44. 

Line 612. The lonely curse. 
Matt. xxi. 19. 

Lines 619—628. 
John xii. 20—33. 

Line 630. He made the widow's heart, &c 
Mark xii. 41 — 44, and xiii. 1. 

Line 631. As once Ezekiel saw, &c. 
Ezex. x. 4. 19, and xi. 23. 

Lines 650—659. 
John xiii. 1 — 17. 

Line 674. Now readily assumed the ready throne- 
Luke xxii. 3. John xiii. 2. 27. 

Lines 678—692. 
John xvii. 1—26. 

Lines 822—837. 
"Having spoiled l < anEK5vadpei>oc, having stripped away from Hvn* 
self) the (hostile) principalities and powers, He made a show of them 
with boldness, having triumphed over them in it (i.e. in the cross) " 
(Col. ii. 15). "The expression having stripped away from Ilimself 
most probably implies that our Lord by His death stripped away 
from Himself all the opposing hostile powers of evil that sought, in 
the nature which He had condescended to assume, to win for them- 
selves a victorv-" Ellicott. 

Lines 838—859. 
See note on Book i., line 671. (1) That our Lord in His disem- 
bodied human spirit descended to the Hades of departed souls seems 
demonstrable from the words of David, "Thou wdt not leave my 
soul in hell " (Ps. xvi. 10), as expounded of Christ by St. Peter (Acta 



420 NOTES. [book 

ii. 27. 31). See Pearson on the Creed. (2; That He visited the 
deep, not Gehenna, but that region of Hades, on the nether side of 
the great gulf (Luke xvi. 23), in which the lost await the judgment 
of the great day, appears most probable from such Scriptures as the 
following: "Let not the waterflood overwhelm me, neither let the 
deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me " 
(Ps. lxix. 15): and again, "Free among the dead, .... they are 
cut off from Thy hand: Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in dark- 
ness and in the deeps" (Ps. lxxxviii. 4 — 7): see also Ps. xviii. 5 — 
15, quoted below: and from the significant tj'pe of Jonah, who was 
cast into the deep before he was swallowed by the great fish. (3) 
That he gained the region of the Blessed Dead in Hades, betwixt the 
ninth hour, when He yielded up the Ghost, and the close of that 
Jewish day three hours after, may be regarded as certain from His 
words to the dying thief, " To-day shalt thou be with Me in Para- 
dise" (Luke xxiii. 43). Thus while His atoning sacrifice was com- 
pleted for ever on Calvary, it appears that His self-abasement was 
not ended on the cross, nor indeed until His resurrection. 

Lines 860—901. 
The Eighteenth Psalm seems expressed in language too majestic 
and august to bear the burden of a le«s mystery than that of the 
death and resurrection of David's Son and David's Lord. The close 
of the Psalm is quoted by St. Paul (Horn. xv. 9), as fulfilled in 
Christ: and this appears to justify a similar application of the mag- 
nificent proem. 

Line 914. Tie came not to the dead, &c. 
All the Scriptures which bear upon our Lord's going down to 
Hades, such as Ps. xvi. 9 — 11. Eph. iv. 9. 1 Pet. iii. 18, 19, repre- 
sent it as an unprecedented act of Redeeming love and condescension. 
Nor are there wanting intimations in the Word of God that the ac- 
complishment of Christ's work on earth was a mighty promotion in 
the bliss of those saints who had already fallen asleep in Him. Then 
and not till then, are they called "the spirits of just men made per- 
fect" (Heb. xii. 23). See Alford on Heb. xi. 40, who comparing the 
two verses says, " The writer seems to testify that the advent and 
work of Christ have changed the estate of the Old Testament fathers 
and saints into greater and perfect bliss, an inference which is forced 
on us by many other passages in Scripture." Indeed it could hardly 
be otherwise, when we remember that the mystical body of Christ 
is one whole family iu heaven and earth (Eph. iii. 15V 



VIII.] NOTES. 421 

Lines 929—937. 
See notes on Book i., line 671, and Book v., lines 900 — 920. 

Lines 1066—1086. 
Ps. xxiv. 

Line 1097. Advancing with His precious blood. 
Heb. ix. 12. 

Lines 1099—1105. 
See Eph. i. 20, 21. 

Line 1111. Cleansed with the virtue of His blood those courts, ice. 
Compare " It pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness 
dwell and, having made peace by the blood of His cross, by Him to 
reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be 
things in earth, or things in heaven (Col. i. 19, 20), with "It 
was necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should 
be purined with these; but the heavenly things themselves 
with better sacrifices than these " (Heb. ix. 23). On these passages 
I venture to refer the reader to my Couunentary on the New 
Testament. 



Exod. xv. 3. 
Rev. iv. 5. 



BOOK VIII. 

Line 49. Jehovah is a man of war. 
Line 54. The Sevenfold Spirit. 



Line 80. Scattered for a week of years. 
See note on Book vii. 822—837. The discomfiture of the hosts of 
darkness by the death and resurrection of Christ, synchronizing with 
the Pentecostal effusion of the Spirit, may afford another clew to tha 
marvellous triumphs of the Gospel betwixt the ascension of our Lord, 
and the martyrdom of St. Stephen (Acts ii. 46, 47, j«nd vi. 7). 

Line 108. As foreshadow' d, &c. 
See John xii. 32. 

Line 163. The Great nigh Priest of God. 
Can this sacerdotal office explain why our Lord is here represented 
as standing at God's right hand? (Acts vii. 55.) 



422 NOTES. [book 

Line 172. For nine long months of years. 
See below, note on lines 270—287. 

Lines 185—202. 

For the historical interpretation of these symbolic horses, I must 
refer the reader to Elliott's Hora? Apocalypticse, of which I have 
given a brief resume" in my Commentary- I here only add my open- 
ing words : — 

M As the four successive empires of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and 
Rome were prefigured in vision to the prophet Daniel by the emblems 
of a lion, a bear, a leopard, and a fourth beast, dreadful and strong 
exceedingly, and as in another vision the kingdoms of Persia and of 
Greece had been respectively foretold by the symbols of a ram and a 
goat, so here the Roman empire is depicted under the emblem of a 
war-horse, an animal sacred to Mars, the reputed father of their 
nation, and as such emblazoned on their coins and standards. The 
compound symbol of the horse and its rider signifies the empire and ita 
imperial government. This was the great antagonistic power to Christ 
and His kingdom in the apostle's days. And as in this prophecy we 
have two cities set before us in vivid contrast — Babylon and Jeru- 
salem; two women — one the mother of harlots, the other the Bride, 
the Lamb's wife; two armies — those of hell and of heaven; two 
thrones — that of Satan and that of God, so at the close we read of 
another white horse and its rider, the true King of kings and Lord of 
lords. But here, as is evident, whatever this composite emblem sig- 
nifies under the first seal, it must signify under the second, third, and 
fourth." 

Line 226. Perpetua. 

See Milner's Church History, Vol. i., pp. 304—309. 

Lines 253—259. 
The historical fulfilment of the fifth seal (Rev. vi. 9-11) is doubtless 
to be found in those fierce and sanguinary persecutions of the Church 
of Christ, which, breaking out from time to time during the first three 
centuries, reached their terrible climax in the reign of Diocletian. It 
was the last convulsive effort of heathendom to crush Christianity. 
For ten dreadful years the waves of fiery trial rolled successively over 
the provinces of the Roman empire. Every province yielded its con- 
tingent to the noble army of witnesses for the truth. And this pe- 
riod is distinguished in history as " the era of martyrs." 

Lines 260—269. 
The sixth seal (Rev. vi. 12 — 17) prefigures, as I believe, the over* 



VIII.] NOTES. 423 

throw of Paganism throughout the Roman Empire at the time of Con- 
stantino. That the figurative language employed is not too strong to 
foreshadow that mighty revolution, will appear from comparing with 
it the emblematic prefigurements in Scripture of other national catas- 
trophes. See Isa. xiii. 9—13 Jer. iv. 23. Ezek. xxxii. 7 

Lines 270—287. 

On the significance of the mystic Bride, and of the dragon ( Rev 
xii. 1 — 6), I venture to make the following extracts from my Com 
mentary : — 

"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven — the Roman firma- 
ment of political power and ascendancy — a woman clothed with the 
sun, if-c. This woman, who is spoken of as the mother of ' those who 
keep the commandments of God' (ver. 17), is without doubt the true 
visible Church of Christ on earth. Her clothing with the sun imports 
her investiture with imperial favor; the moon, which, as the faithful 
witness in heaven (Ps. lxxxix. 37), reflects the light of the sun, being 
under her feet, signifies her ecclesiastical supremacy in a Christian 
empire : her coronal of twelve stars may well represent her glory as 
upholding a faithful pastorate, the pastorate of those who cleave to the 
doctrine of the twelve apostles ; and her pregnancy and travail denote 
a period of oppression and agony before a crisis of deliverance, and 
fruitfulness, and joy. So it is said of Jerusalem, ' Before she travailed 
she brought forth ; before her pain came she was delivered of a man 
child. . . . Shall a nation be born at once?' (Isa. lxvi. 7, 8. Cf. 
Mic. v. 3.) 

" Such was the state of the Church when the Emperor Constantino 
first embraced the faith of Christ, and threw over her the mantle of 
his imperial protection. Purified in the furnace of the Diocletian 
persecution, 'she looked forth as the morning, fair as the moon, 
clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners' (Song vi 
10). Moreover, it Las been observed that 'as the time of gestation 
from the conception to the birth in women with child is known to bo 
forty weeks, or two hundred and eighty days, so, from the first rise 
of our Saviour's kingdom, at His resurrection and ascension, A.D. S3, 
till the famous edict for the universal liberty and advancement of 
Christianity by Constantine and Licinius, A.D. 313, which put an end 
to the pangs of birth in the heaviest persecution that ever was then 
known, was exactly two hundred and eighty years.' Whiston. 

" And there appeared another wonder in heaven — i.e., as before, in 
the firmament of the Roman empire — and behold a great dragon, 
fiery red, tfc. The great dragon is tho devil (see ver. 9), the god of 
this world. In the Old Testament the power of Egypt, as the enemy 



424 NOTES. [book 

of God and of His Church, is thus described (Isa. xxvii. 1; li. 9. 
Ezek. xxix. 3). But here the devil is represented as animating the 
pagan empire of Rome; for the seven heads of the dragon signify 
the seven hills on which Rome was built, and the seven forms of 
government which successively prevailed there. (See Rev. xvii. 
9 — 18.) The ten horns denote the ten kingdoms into which the 
western empire was at length divided (Dan. vii. 23 — 27), which had 
S3 yet received no sovereignty." 

In the rapture of the woman's new-born child to God and Ilia 
throne, we may not only trace the political ascendancy of Christian- 
ity, but, followed as it is by her own flight into the wilderness fcr 
1260 years, we are reminded that during the time of the Church's 
warfare, her kingdom is not of this world. 

Lines 292—594. 

The following extract will show the terrestrial meaning I attach to 
the celestial warfare described Rev. xii. 7 — 12. One thing only I 
would add, that if, as I humbly conceive, there has been a real coun- 
terpart to the conflicts of the Church militant here on earth in the 
heavenly places themselves, such war, I am persuaded, took place, 
not as our great poet describes it, before the creation of man, but after 
the ascension of our Lord. 

" And there was war in heaven, <fc. This war in the firmament of 
the Roman empire seems to embrace all the conflicts between heath- 
enism and Christianity for political ascendancy, a.d. 311 — 363, from 
Constantine's first avowal of the faith of Christ to the death of Julian 
the apostate. How far the hosts of darkness and the angels of light 
intermingled in these conflicts is one of those deep mysteries upon 
which the light of Scripture shines but dimly. We know that St. 
Paul, describing the daily warfare of the saints, says, ' We wrestle 
not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against pow- 
ers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual 
wickedness in the heavenly places' (Eph. vi. 12). We know that 
when Elisha was in danger, ' the mountain was full of horses and 
chariots of fire round about him' (2 Kings vi. 17). Nor, if such are 
the foes and such the guardian spirits of every servant of God, is it 
unlikely that the eventful contest on the Roman earth had its coun- 
terpart in a yet more terrible struggle betwixt the armies of the 
archangel Michael and the legions of the prince of the power of 
the air (Eph. ii. 2). This is confirmed by Dan. x. 13. 21; xii. 1, and 
Jude 9. But, deeply interesting as are these glimpses into the world 
of spirits, the terrestrial conflict betwixt Paganism and Christianity 



VIII.] NOTES. 425 

seems mainly prefigured in this symbolic language. The warfare 
was long and sharp, but it ended in the total defeat of heathenism, 
and in the deposing of idolaters from all rule and authority. They 
never regained their supremacy. The saints of God thought*indeed 
that the predicted triumph of Messiah's kingdom had arrived. The 
end was not yet. But it was in itself a true and glorious victory, and 
the paeans of the Church on earth were re-echoed by the loftier halle- 
lujahs of exulting angels and of the spirits of the just made perfect 
in heaven. They saw therein a pledge of the final dethronement of 
Satan. They rejoiced that he could no longer prefer his ceaseless and 
bitter accusations, as of old. They ascribed all the victory to the 
blood of the Lamb, and to the word of the martyrs' testimony. They 
called on all the inhabitants of heaven to swell the tide of gratitude 
and joy. While a deeper note of warning, perhaps issuing from the 
throne of God, predicted the yet bitterer and more deadly wrath of 
the ejected spirit of evil, during the short time of his permitted devas- 
tations. The time might seem long to the weary and waiting Church, 
but it was short as recorded in the annals of heaven, and in prospect 
of the eternity to come." 

Line 597. A strange refrain of vooe. 
See Rev. xii. 12. 

Line 659. First let us loose, &c. 
Rev. xii. 15. 

Line 670. Now let us counterfeit Himself Triune. 

Such a threefold conspiracy, the master-piece of hell, is described 
in the Apocalypse, where St. John says, " I saw a wild beast rising 
up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, . . . and upon 
his heads the name of blasphemy : . . . and the dragon gave him his 
power, and his throne, and great authority. . . . And I saw another 
wild beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a 
lamb, and he spake as a dragon, and he exerciseth all the power of 
the first beast in his presence (evutuov avrov), and causeth the earth 
and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast" (Rev. xiii. 1, * 
2. 11, 12). Here the dragon, as appears from ch. xii. 3, represents 
Pagan Rome ; the first wild beast, Rome Papal ; the second wild beast, 
who is described as " the false prophet who wrought miracles in the 
beast's presence " (ch. xix. 20), the Papal hierarchy. The Paganism 
of ancient Rome was merged in the great Antichristian apostasy, and 
this was supported to the utmost by the hierarchy of that corrupt 
Church. 

But not only did the dragon represent the persecuting power of 



426 NOTES. [book 

Pagan Rome, but we are expressly told that the dragon is " that old 
serpent, called the devil and Satan " (Rev. xii. 9). There was a spir- 
itual agent animating Paganism, none other than the prince of hell. 
Hence by analogy we may infer there was another spiritual agent 
animating Papal Rome, to whom the dragon tendered his power, and 
yet a third spiritual agent animating the Papal hierarchy. Such an 
hypothesis is strongly confirmed by the intense personality which 
breathes in the words "These both (the beast and the false prophet) 
were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone" (Rev. xix. 
20; and see xx. 10). Such an association of evil spirits is not without 
parallel, as appears from the words of our Lord (Matt. xii. 43 — 45), 
and might be well anticipated from the malignity of the powers of 
darkness in their last conspiracies against the truth. 

Line 712. His well-beloved, by us betrayed, debauched. 

For proof that the woman upon whose forehead was a name writ- 
ten " Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots 
and abominations of the earth " (Rev. xvii. 5) is none other 
than the Papal Church, I would refer the reader to Archdeacon 
Wordsworth's masterly essay " Is not the Church of Rome the Baby- 
lon of the Apocalypse? " an essay which is in my view altogether 
unanswerable. 

Line 743. Tlie bride is hidden in the wilderness. 

Rev. xii. 6 and 14. 

Lines 751—793. 

See Rev. vi. and vii. ; which I believe embrace the history of the 
fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries. 

Line 797. Baalim, heaVd of his wound, &c. 

See Rev. xiii. 1, and xvii. 8, where we read, " The beast that thoa 
sawest was and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, 
and shall go into perdition : and they that dwell on the earth shall 
wonder, whose names are not written in the book of life from the 
foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is 
not, and yet is." The beast as an imperial Pagan power was slain 
by the sword of Constantine, but yet ascends out of the abyss, aa 
popery, born of hell, ascended to reanimate the sinking empire of 
Rome, and shall go into perdition when its destined reign of 1260 
years is finished. This is an infernal counterfeit of the resurrection 
of the Lord of life. 

Lines 830—852. 

See Rev. ix , which by a marvellous consensus of interpreter is 



IX.] NOTES. 427 

allowed to describe the rise and progress of Mohammedanism. 
AJmost simultaneously at the beginning of the seventh century, Pop- 
ery in the West, and the religion of the false prophet in the East, 
arose to try to the uttermost the faith of God's elect. 

Line 889. Lo,from the heavens descended One, &c. 
See Rev. x. 1 — 7, which describes the blessed Reformation. 

Line 914. According to His word. 
Matt. x. 23. 

Lines 933—954. 
Rev. xv. and xvi., which I believe delineate those preparative 
ju igments of the last and present century, that usher in the Advent 
of the Prince of Peace. 

Line 979. As he, had npertd things unknoion by me, &c. 
See Paradise Lost, Book viii. 203—205. 

Line 1019. The Jirst portends our tryst. 
See Num. x. 1—10. 



BOOK IX. 

Line 67. Not spouse, but what is symbolized by spouse 
The words of our Lord are express, " The children of this world 
marry and are given in marriage; but they which shall be accounted 
worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, 
neither marry nor are given in marriage; neither can they die any 
more; for they are eqnal unto the angels, and are the children of 
God, being the children of the resurrection" (Luke xx. 34 — 36), 
and for ever close the door against any theories of a Mohammedan 
Paradise. 

Line 71. A reflex glory 1 and image of myself. 
1 Cor. xi. 7. 

Lines 120—148. 
There are many intimations in Hory Scripture that the latest con- 
flicts of the Church will be the worst, her last birth-pangs the most 
severe (lsa. lix. 19, 20. Dan. xii. 1. Luke xviii. 8. Rom. viii. 19— 



428 NOTES. [booh 

Lines 156—205. 
If the Paradise of the Blessed Dead is below (see note on Book i., 
line 671), it follows that there must be an ascent of the disembodied 
saints to earth before, at the voice of God, they are raised from the 
grave, and before their spirits, reunited to their glorified bodies, rise 
to meet the Lord in the air. 

Lines 216—246. 
See Ezek. i. 1 — 28. These lines are transferred, with some modi- 
fications, from my Seatonian Prize Poem " Ezekiel." The prophet's 
sublime vision of the chariot of Deity is the alone source from whiclr 
any writer could venture to draw. See Milton's admirable para 
phrase, Paradise Lost, Book vi., lines 746 — 766. 

Line 298. The Lord Himself descended with a sJumt. 
See 1 Thess. iv. 16, 17. 

Line 306. The incandescent sky from East to West. 
Matt. xxiv. 27. 

Line 312. Save on the hills of Zion, &o. 
Compare Dan. x. 7, and Acts ix. 7. 

Lines 367—391. 
It appears that the fall of Babylon (Rev. xiv. 8; xvi. 19; xviii. 1— 
24) takes place at the Advent of our Lord, when He comes for His 
saints, but that the destruction of the Papal Antichrist and the bind- 
ing of Satan do not occur, however short the interval may be, until 
He returns, after the marriage supper, with His saints. See Kev. xix 
19—21; xx. 1, 2. 

Lines 392—414. 
See Zech. xii. 10—14; xiii. 1. Mai. iv. 5, 6. Although John Bap- 
tist came in the spirit and power of Elijah, our Lord's words are ex- 
press that Elijah himself " shall come and restore all things " (Matt. 
*vii. 11). 

Lines 440 — 462. 
Ezek. xvi. 1—14. 

Line 472. My love, my cfot?e, &c. 
Song of Solomon i. 15 ; ii. 16 ; iv. 7 ; v. 2. 

Line 572. The marriage supper of the Lamb, 
Eev. xix. 9, and Luke xxii. 30. 

Line 621. Half a week of years. 
There are many who think that the duration of Israel's last fiery 



X.] NOTES. 429 

trial will he for three years and a half, from Dan. ix 27 and other 
scriptures. 

Lines 634—685. 
Rev. xix. 11—16, and Ps. xlv. 2—17. 



BOOK X. 

Line 43. There remains a Sabbath, &c. 
n There remaineth, therefore, a rest {oa$iSa.TiO{i6s, " a sabbath rest ") 
for the people of God" (Heb. iv. 9). 

Line 45. But not, as many thought. 
So Cowper in his exquisite lines — 

" Six thousand years of sorrow have well nigh 
Fuhill'd their tardy and disastrous course 
Over a sinful world; and what remains 
Of this tempestuous state of human things 
Is merely as the working of a 6ea 
Before a calm, that rocks itself to rest." 

Winter Walk at Noon. 

Lines 59—103. 
See Ezek. xxxviii. 1 — 16. Dan. xii. 1. Zech. xiv. 1 — 3. 

Lines 106—110. 
The last form of the abomination of desolation (Matt. xxiv. 15): 
the last usurpation of the Papal Antichrist who " exalteth himself 
above all that is called God, or that is worshipped ; so that he as God 
sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God " (2 
Thess. ii. 4) : the last development of the mystery of iniquity, the triple 
conspiracy of hell (Rev. xix. 19). See note on Book viii., line 670. 

Lines 121—133. 
The nolemn words of our Lord, " How can Satan cast out Satan? 
And it a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot 
stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot 
stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, be 
cannot stand, but hath an end" (Mark iii. 23—26), suggest that at 
the time of the end there will be such a dissolution of the conspiracy 



430 NOTES. [book 

of hell, such a rupture in the empire of darkness, such a suicidal 
strife amid the principalities of evil. 

Line 161. Behind Elijah's mantle. 
See note, Book ix., lines 392 — 414. 

Lines 163—182. 
See Pa. 1. 8. The last clause of Zech. xiv. 6. 2 Thess. i. 7— « 
Rev. i. 7. 

Lines 187—201. 
" These hoth (the beast and the false prophet) were cast alive into 
a lake of fire burning with brimstone " (Rev. xix. 20). 

Lines 201—216. 
Rev. xx. 1—3. 

Lines 219—247. 
" For behold the Lord will come with fire and with His chariots 
like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with 
flames of fire : for by fire and by His sword will the Lord plead with 
all flesh, and the 6lain of the Lord shall be many" (Isa. lxvi. 15, 16). 
This is parallel with Rev. xix. 21. On the discriminative character 
of this fiery judgment, see an earlier prophecy in the Apocalyose 
(Rev. xiv. 9—11). 

Lines 248—259. 
See Isa. xiv. 9—20. 

Line 284. His feet rested on Olivet. 
Zech. xiv. 4. 

Lines 288—298. 
Compare " When thou passest through the fire thou shalt not be 
burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee" (Isa. xliii. 2), 
with the remarkable words, " I have covered thee in the shadow 
of Mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the founda- 
tions of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art My people " (Isa. 
li. 16). 

Line 307. The mountain of the Lord had risen sublime. 
Isa. ii. 2. Micah iv. 1. 

Line 308. Olivet was cleft. 
Zech. xiv. 4. 

Line 319. A river of perennial waters Jkno'd 
Ezek. xlvii. 1—12. Zech. xiv. 8. 



*J 



NOTES. 431 

Line 336. Zion rose. 



Isa. Ix. 1. 

Line 338. Entering His temple courts. 
Compare Ezek. xliii. 1 — 5. 

Line 368. Words of grateful praise . 
" And then shall every man have praise of God " (1 Cor. iv. b) 

Line 415. For full fruition of the light of God. 

That the beatific vision of the face of the Eternal Fatber is possible 
for created beings, if unfallen, appears from the words of our Lord 
respecting the angelic guardians of the little ones who believe in 
Him, " In heaven their angels do always behold the face of My Father 
which is in heaven " (Matt, xviii. 10): but that this loftiest privilege 
is not vouchsafed to the Church Universal until after the Millennium 
and after the final judgment, may be perhaps inferred from the 
reservation till then of this glorious promise in the Apocalypse, 
" They shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads " 
(Rev. xxii. 4). If so, the Millennial Sabbath, as we might have sur- 
mised, will be in this respect also an education fbr that which ia to 
come. 

Lines 418—438. 

Pa. lxvii. 1, 2. Isa. xxxii. 15; Hi. 7. Matt. xi. 11. 

Lines 439—464. 
Isa. xxxv. 1—10; x^. _— 20; lv. 12, 13. 

Lines 465—489. 
Isa. xi. 6—9 ; lxv. 25. 

Lines 490—505. 
Joel ii. 21—27. Isa. xxx. 26. 

Line 505. War was unknown, &c. 
Isa. ii. 4. 

Line 510. BabeCs confusion was unlearned, &c. 
Not only " In that day shall there be one Lord," but it is added 
'And His name one" (Zech. xiv. 9). "Tongues shall cease" (1 
Cor. xin. 8). One song arises from every creature on the earth 
(Rev. v. 18). 

Line 514. No labor now was tost, &c 
See Ps. lxxii. Isa. Ix. 

Line 520. David\ vicegerent, &c. 
Ezek. xxxvii. 26 



432 NOTES. [boob. 

Line 522. The Twelve, &c 

Line 527. A royalty of priests. 



Matt. xix. 28. 
Isa. lxi. 6. 



Line 546. Evil lurk'd unseen, &c. 
This appears from the remaruable prophecy which, describing the 
Millennial state, says, " The child shall die an hundred years old, 
but the 6inner being an hundred years old shall be accursed " (Isa. 
Ixv. 20). Hei« we read of sin and curse and death; whereas, after 
the Millennium and the judgment, death shall be destroyed, and there 
shall be no more curse (Rev. xxi. 4 and xxii. 3). 

Line 656. Nor prophecy was mute. 
Rev. xx. 7. 

Line 567. Nor wounds though rare, &c. 
Ezek. xlvii. 12. 

Line 585. And angels up and down those radiant stairs, &c 
Compare John i. 51 with Gen. xxviii. 12. 



BOOK XL 

Lines 1 — 11. 
" The Son of man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather 
out of His kingdom all things that offend and them which do iniquity, 
and shall cast them into a furnace of fire : there shall be wailing and 
gnashing of teeth " (Matt. xiii. 41, 42). 

Line 19. Oppressive silence, &c. 
" The wicked shall be silent in darkness " (1 Sam. ii. 9). 

Line 25. Silence but no sleep, &c. 
Isa. lvii. 21. Rev xiv. 11. 

Line 41. The Lord is righteous. 
Exod. ix. 27. 

Line 80. Shall we humbly sue, &c 
8ee Paradise Lost Book iv., lines 80—104. 

Lines 148—167. 
" That he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand 



XI.] NOTES. 43C 

years should be fulfilled : and after that he must be loosed a little 
season " (Rev. xx. 3). 

Lines 191—195. 
** And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed 
out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in 
the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather thein 
together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea" 
(Rev. xx. 7, 8). 

Lines 198, 199. 
See Paradise Lost, Book x., lines 410 — 414. 

Lines 206—215. 
See Paradise Lost, Book ix., lines 58 — 68. 

Line 220. The sparse and rare remains qfiU. 
See note, Book x., line 646. 

Line 233. Penuel 
See Book iv., lines 456 — 469. 

Lines 334 — 344. 
See Isa. lxvi. 23, and Zech. xiv. 16. 

Lines 432—458. 
11 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the 
camp of the saints about, and the beloved city " (Rev. xx. 9). 

Line 460. Which shook the first fell council of the damn'd. 
See Book vi., lines 420 — 424. 

Line 469. The dreadful storm of fire, &c. 
•'And fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured 
them " (Rev. xx. 9). 

Line 474. A whisper ran, &c. 
See Exod. xiv. 25. 

Lines 492—518. 
u And Death and Hades delivered up the dead that were in them " 
(Rev. xx. 13). " All that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and 
shall come forth, they that have done good unto the resurrection of 
life, and the}' that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation " 
(John v. 28. 29). From Rev. xx. 4, 5, we learn that a thousand years 
intervene betwixt the resurrection of the just and that of the unjust, 
although in the perspective of prophecv they are often presented 
simultaneously to our view. 

28 



434 NOTES. [book 

Lines 519—539. 
" And Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire " ( Rev- xx, 
14). It is only of the ilades of the lost St. John is here speaking. 

Lines 540—558. 
See 2 Pet. iii. 7 — 10. That the camp of the saints and the beloved 
city will be exempted from this final fire, having been already puri- 
fied at the beginning of the Millennium, seems clear from Rev. xx= 8 
and Isa. li. 16. 

Lines 559—594. 
"And I saw a great white throne, and Ilim that sate on it, from 
«-hose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found 
no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before 
God: and the books were opened: and another book was opened, 
which is the book of life" (Rev. xx. 11, 12). And compare Dan. vii. 
9, 10. 

Lines 595 — 623. 
Matt. xxv. 31—33. Rom. xiv. 10—12. 1 Cor. iv. 5. See also 
Matt x. 42. 2 Cor. ix. 6. 2 Tim. iv. 8. Rev. xxii. 12. 

Lines 637—645. 
Matt. xxv. 84. 

Lines 646—672. 
"Do ytj not know tbat the sainta shall judge the world? " (1 Cor. 
vi. 2.) 

Lines 673—705. 
" Reserved unto judgment " (2 Pet. ii. 4). " Know ye not that we 
ahall judge angels? " (1 Cor. vi. 3.) 

Lines 706—745. 
"It shall bruise thy head" (Gen. iii. 15). "And the devil thtit 
deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the 
least and the false prophet are" (Rev. xx. 10). 

Lines 787—794. 
Matt. xxvi. 24. 

Lines 800—806. 
See Book viii., lines 226—252. 

Lines 832—840. 
" They watch for your souls as they that must give account, that 
they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable 
for you" Heb. xiii. 17). 



XT.] NOTES. 435 

Lines 856—867. 
Matt. xxv. 41. Rev. ii. 26, 27. 

Lines 868—880. 
"And these shall go away into everlasting punishment" (Matt, 
xxv. 46). 

Line 881. All shook except the Throne of Judgment. 
See Paradise Lost, Book vi., lines 831—834. 

Line 890. He was in tears. 
Compare Gen. vi. 6. Ezek. xviii. 32. Luke xix. 41—44. 

Line 901. And jiulgment is Bis strange and dreadful vx>rk. 
" That He may do His work, His strange work; and briug to pass 
His act, His strange act " (Isa. xxviii. 21). 

Lines 909—919. 
Rev xiv. 10, 11, and xix. 3. 

Lines 919—927. 
Heb. x. 31 ; xii. 29. 

Lines 928—957. 
See note, Book iii., line S75. On this most solemn and awful 
theme, I would only add that Holy Scripture supplies us with the 
most express assurances that the powers of evil shall be for ever sub- 
jugated under the feet of the Son of God. His enemies shall be made 
His footstool (Ps. ex. 1). "He must reign till He hath put all ene 
mies under His feet" (1 Cor. xv. 25). " For this purpose the Son ot 
God was manifested, that He might destroy (Xvori) the works of the 
devil" (1 John iii. 8). These Scriptures stand inflexibly opposed to 
that mediaeval tradition, which pictures devils tormenting men, and 
men blaspheming God for ever, and assure us of the eternal repression 
of every act of evil, and of the eternal silencing of every word of 
rebellion. 

Lines 970—1020. 
Nor is the repression of evil the only result of the Divine judgment 
which the Word of God reveals. It also declares that even the lost 
shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the giory of God the Father 
(Phil. ii. 9—11. Rev. v. 13). So of Pharaoh, the most signal ex- 
ample of obduracy which earth has seen, God says, " I will at this 
time send all My plagues upon thine heart . . . that thou mayest 
know that there is none like Me" (Exod. ix. 14): for a time Pharaoh 
did know and confess, " The Lord is righteous, and I and my people 
are wicked " (Exod. ix. 27): but the judgment being relaxed, he re- 



436 NOTES. [liOOK 

belled again and again. In that future world of woe, the punishment 
is eternal (Matt, xxv- 46. 2 Thess. i. 9), and the enforced submis- 
sion and confession will be eternal likewise. And then shall the 
marvellous words of the Psalmist be acknowledged by all, " God, 
hath spoken once, twice have I heard this; that power belongeth 
unto God: also unto Thee, O Lord, belongeth meecy; for Tbou 
rendwest to every man according to his work " (Pa. lxii. 11, 121 



BOOK XLT. 

Line 47. The earth, emerging from her flood o/flre, &c 
St. John says, " I saw a new heaven and a new earth ; for the first 
heaven and the first earth were passed away " ( Rev. xxi. 1 ). Our first 
impression from these words, which introduce the glories of the eternal 
ages beyond the millennium, might be that the present heavens and 
earth would be utterly brought to nought. Other scriptures, how- 
ever, prove that not the annihilation, but the renovation of our world, 
is here foretold. Thus the land of promise was given to Abraham 
and his seed for an "everlasting possession" (Gen. xvii. 8). Zion, 
we read, shall be "an eternal excellency" (Isa. lx. 15). Jesus 
Christ " upon the throne of His father, David, will reign over the 
house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end " 
(Luke i. 83). God will " not un-create," but " re-create" that which 
He has made for His glory. That the terms here used do not coinpe) 
us to interpret them as signifying "annihilation," appears from a 
comparison of the language used by St. Peter in describing the del- 
nge, " the world that then was perished " (2 Pet. iii. 6. 13), and from 
the yet more striking parallel of the new birth of the soul to God 
" If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed 
away; behold all things are become new" (2 Cor. v. 17). The 
world, though it "perished" in the deluge, was not annihilated; and 
the soul, that is born of God, though renewed, does not lose its iden- 
tity with its former self. This will be the perfected " regeneration," 
of which our Lord spoke (Matt. xix. 28). The renewal, which com- 
mences at the second advent, and continues during the millennium, 
will be consummated after the final judgment. The millennial 
heavens and earth will be new, compared with those which are now 
(see Isa. Ixv. 17 — 25); but this renovation will only be completed in 
those which are to last for ever and can never be shaken or removed 



XII.] NOTES. 437 

Line 60. Her bite apparel was notfjund. 
Ps. cii. 25, 26. 



See Kev. xix 3. 
See Isa. liv. 1—10. 



Lines o., — , o. 



Lines 91—102. 



Lines 103—127. 
" God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trum- 
pet" (Ps. xlvii. 6). See the whole of this exultant Psalm. 

Line 12S. Before us now it rose, bnV'led aloft., Sec. 
The question has been keenly controverted whether the new Jeru- 
salem (Rev. xxi. xxii.) is actually the abode of the heavenly citizens, 
or only a representation of the Church Triumphant under the emblem 
of a city. The advocates of a purely symbolical meaning maintain, 
"The bride is a city, and the city is a bride: both expressions are 
therefore figures to describe the glorious community of ransomed 
souls, the mystical body of Christ, and blessed company of all faithful 
people." But to this it may be sutficient to reply that, in the con- 
tracted case of Babylon (Kev. xvii. 1—3, 18), the woman is a city, 
and the city is a worn in. Both expressions are figures to denote the 
apostate Papal Church. But this does not prevent the existence of 
the actual city of Rome, a material structure, which shall be consumed 
with material fire. The site and the buildings are, indeed, of very 
secondary importance to the character of the harlot Church who 
occupies them ; for it is her faithlessness which gives them all their 
disastrous significance. But there they are, seven hills crowned with 
edifices on the banks of the Tiber. So of the new Jerusalem : the city, 
it is true, is a type of a spiritual building compacted of living stones, 
which is growing an holy temple unto the Lord ( Eph. ii. 21). Hut 
this does not preclude the possibility of an actual fabric, composed of 
heavenly material, which shall never be destroyed. Here, too, the 
bite and the structure are of inferior moment to the virgin bride who 
shall dwell therein; for it is her saintliness which gives all its signifi- 
cance to her palace home. That home, however, exists, a glorious 
reality, an abiding city yet to come — a city which hath foundations, 
whose designer and builder is God. (See lieb. xi. 10. 16; xiii. 14, 
which Scriptures strongly confirm this view.) We are thus irresisti- 
bly led to the conclusion that the heavenly Jerusalem here described 
is both real and typical — an actual city, of which every part typifies 
the spiritual temple of living stones. For as the glorified body will 



438 NOTES. [book 

be the worthy habitation of the perfectly regenerate spirit — a build- 
ing of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (2 
C<t. v. 1) — so the celestial city will be the meet dwelling-place of 
the saints fbr ever, and their spiritual characteristics will each and all 
find a counterpart in that marvellous structure prepared for them by 
their God. Hence it is by no means easy, nor perhaps is it always 
desirable, to interpret the various details here given. They awaken 
conceptions of delight which we cannot always define or describe. 
But let us suffer those images of glory to float through our mind, and 
to rest in our heart, until we exclaim — 

" Jerusalem ! Jerusalem ! would God I were in thee ! 
When shall my labors have an end, thy joys when shall 1 see? " 
And perchance this unveiling of the glories to come has accomplished 
its ch'ef intent: it has weaned us from earth; it has drawn us to 
heaven. 

Line 144. The agate once Chalcedony peerless boast. 
The chalcedony was a striped agate found at Chalcedon. 

Lines 160—164. 
See Heb. viii. 5; ix. 23, and the important words regarding Solo- 
mon's temple, which are often forgotten when those regarding the 
Mosaic tabernacle are remembered, 1 Chron. xxviii. 11, 12. 19. Re- 
garding the temple likewise we are there assured " the pattern of all 
was by the Sri kit," and was, we cannot doubt, only a more elab- 
orate revelation of the heavenly sanctuary. 

Line 166. Some high watch among the lasting hills. 
Rev. xxi. 10. 

Lines 168—189. 
See Rev. iv. 1 — 11, and note on Book iv., lines 295 — 301. 

Lines 194—236. 
See note, Book x., line 415, and compare Col. i. 22 with Jude 24. 

Lines 237—252. 
Matt. xi. 27. Heb. i. 8. Rev. xix. 12. 

Lines 253 — 269. 
Ps. xcvii. 7, &s unfolded Heb. i. 6. Eph. i. 20—22 rhii. ii. 
ft— 11. 

Lines 270—292. 
In these lines I have attempted to express thoughts contained in 
ttiti lullowiny noten troin mv commentary on 1 Cor. xv. 24— 2£ : — 



xn.] NOTES. 43 j 

"And then, when the whole creation is tlius subjected to the Son, 
who is the Creator and Heir of all things, then shall the Son also 
Himself be manifestly subordinate, by His own willing and holy 
Belf- presentation of Himself and the ransomed universe to the Eter- 
nal Father. And so God will be all in all — not the Father without 
the Son, nor the Father and the Son without the co-eternal Spirt, 
but Father. Son, and Spirit in the unity of the Godhead, being wor- 
shipped and adored by things in heaven, aud things in earth, and 
things under the earth. 

44 Of this profound ruystery, when in the future glory the clouds of 
Bin and sorrow shall be for ever swept away, perhaps the experience 
of saints in their access to, and communion with, God on earth, may 
afford some faint adumbration. When in prayer they are most con 
scious of the struggle with unbelief and sin, how vividly they realize 
the mediatorship of the man Christ Jesus! they seem to come first to 
Jesus, and, through Him, they have access by One Spirit unto the 
Father. But when God in Christ lifts up the light of His counte- 
nance in clearest effulgence upon them, as they kneel at the footstool 
of the throne of grace, then it is often rather the Unity of Essence in 
the Godhead than the Trinity of Persons which fills and absorbs theii 
souls; they are in the presence of Him who is Love; they dwell in 
God, and God in them. And at such an hour God to them is ' all 
in all."' 

Line 327. Ilis priestly* abode within the House of God. 
Snch appears to be the primary meaning of the words of our Lord, 
44 In My Father's house are many mansions" (John xiv. 2); for He 
had already consecrated this name "My Father's house" to describe 
the temple at Jerusalem (John ii. 16). Heaven is thus revealed under 
the similitude of a temple, containing mansions for all the members 
of the royal priesthood. 

Lines 358 — 368. 
See Eph. iii. 10. 

Lines 369—393. 
44 That in the ages to come He may show the exceeding riches ol 
His grace in Hie kindness towards us through Christ Jesus " (Eph. ii. 7 ) 

Lines 393—410. 
St. Paul's words (1 Cor xiii. 13) are express, 44 And now" {wvl <5f, 
not referring to time, but to reality, 44 as the case really is,") " abideth 
fruth, hope, love." These three Divine graces are not like our imper- 
fect knowledge, and imperfect utterance, which will vanish away. 



440 NOTES. [BOOK 

These are imperishable and eternal. These abide for evermore. It 
is true that those things, which are now objects of faith and hope, 
will be objects of sight and of blessed fruition then; but to a finite 
being, however wide the expanse which is his own, there must ever 
be an infinite unknown beyond, and all that lies beyond the limit of 
his intuition will exercise faith aud hope. These graces then abide,. 
But love will ever have a supremacy over faith and hope, for it is the 
immediate reflection of Him who is love. 
Lines 411—454. 
Compare the prophetic Psalm, " I will declare Thy name unto My 
jetkren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee " (inter- 
preted of our Lord, Heb. ii. 12) : also His own words, " The time com- 
eth when I shall no more speak unto you in parables ; but I shall show 
you plainly of the Father" (John xvi. 25): and the apocalyptic vision 
of the white-robed multitudes whom no man could number, " who are 
before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His tem- 
ple" (Kev. vii. 15). 

Lines 455 — 482. 
See Rev. xxi. 2. 

Lines 482—490. 
If the earthly Zion is " an eternal excellency " (Isa. lx. 14, 15), and 
the holy land of promise is " an everlasting possession " secured by 
an everlasting covenant to Abraham and his seed (Gen. xvii. 7, 8), 
may we not humbly from analogy infer that other terrestrial localities 
likewise will be recognized V 

Lines 491—500. ♦" 

See Isa. xlix. 19, 20. 

Lines 501—513. 
" The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the 
Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Hab. ii. 14). 

Lines 614 — 525. 
See Rev. xxi. 3. 

Lines 526 — 545. 
"And the nations" ["of them which are saved," these words are 
omitted in the best MSS.] " shall walk in the light of it " (Rev. xxi 
24}. 

Lines 546—569. 
Compare Isa. lxvi. 24 with the solemn revelations of the end of the 
ungodly introduced once and again amid the glories of the eternal 
kingdom (Rev. xxi. 8. 27; xxii. 15). 



HI.] NOTES. 441 

Lines 5/0 — 598. 
M Ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have 
done in it, saith the Lord God " (Ezek. xiv. 23). 

Lines 599 — 633. 
For the proof from Holy Scripture that the human family, when sin 
and death are for ever overcome, shall go on multiplying its blessed 
generations without end, these notes are too limited to afford space. 
I must refer to the abundant evidence collated, in Birks' " Daniel," 
Vol. i., ch. xvi., and in his " Outlines of Unfulfilled Prophecy," ch. 
xv.; and also to a most thoughtful and suggestive work, recently pub- 
lished, Shepheard's Tree of Life. This we may well believe, that 
whereas it is recorded " God formed the earth and made it, I le cre- 
ated it not in vain, lie formed it to be inhabited" (Isa. xlv. 18), the 
same untiring Goodness will in His own time people with intelligent 
worshippers the countless orbs of the heavens. Of the whole ran- 
somed Church we are assured it is but "a kind of firstfruits of His 
creature" (James i. 18). The illimitable harvest is yet to be gath- 
ered in. May our hearts only be in unison with the inspired dox- 
logy (Eph. iii. 20, 21), "Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding 
ibundantly above all that we can ask or think, according to the 
power tbat worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the Church by Christ 
Jesus unto all the generations of the age of the ages ! Amen." 



Cambridge : Press of John Wilson and Son. 



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THE MASTER'S HOME CALL. A brief memorial of 
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